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Hungry people fill Riverfront Park at the 42nd annual Pig Out in the Park festival on Labor Day weekend

At the Piggly’s Barbecue booth, cheeseburgers, Polish sausage, all-beef hot dogs and grilled onions await customers Wednesday, during the first day of Pig Out in the Park at Riverfront Park.  (COLIN MULVANY/THE SPOKESMAN-REVI)

Under the overcast September skies, swaths of hungry people came to Riverfront Park to go hog wild at Spokane’s annual Pig Out in the Park this Labor Day weekend.

Spokane has been pigging out for 42 years, with the event seeing consistent growth in attendance and cuisine. This year, 64 food vendors set up tents and trucks, freezers and grills at Riverside Park, filling the air with tantalizing aromas of barbecue and grease. Pig Out patrons had 275 menu items to choose from this year and could indulge in more variety by purchasing $6 bites offered during happy hours, 3-5 p.m. and 8-9 p.m., daily.

Besides the diverse array of food, the festival includes 107 musical guests spanning the six days, so attendees can jam out to Just Plain Darin’s acoustic originals or 1960’s protest songs covered by Red Neck Bees. While music from one of the many stages at the park provided ambience, only one thing drew Andy and Teresa to the festival Sunday.

“For the food,” Andy said while waiting in line at Azar’s Deep Fresh Press for a cheesy jalapeño footlong hot dog.

Teresa said in her college days, groups of students would carpool and make the pilgrimage to Pig Out every year. When he worked downtown, Andy said he’d come a few times in the week the festival operates, sampling a variety of cuisines.

It’s been a couple of years since the two last attended the event, but they braved the herds of people and long lines to order dogs of both the hot and corn varieties.

Some patrons noticed increases in prices this year compared with years past, but Andy and Teresa said it’s to be expected given the work that vendors do to set up, tear down and run their booth for six days straight. Additionally, the money spent to staff booths and purchase supplies justified the cost.

That’s where the samples come in, penny-pinching patrons can opt to spend less for a $6 bite compared with other dishes costing anywhere from $8 to $24.

It’s not worth it for attendee Courtney, who stood in line with her elementary-aged sons, Braylon and Elijah, for a character-shaped cotton candy at Three Twenty Below.

“That’s ridiculous,” she said. “It’s kind of a waste of my money, I’ll just go to Costco for a sample.”

“And time,” Braylon said, noting the long lines at booths. “Time is money.”

Braylon and Elijah are practically dues-paying members at the cotton candy fan club; they get it every year at the fair. This year, the family came down from Chattaroy to pig out on cotton candy and pulled pork sandwiches.

Watching employees shape the spun sugar larger than their heads, Braylon decided he wanted a duck, Elijah chose a rabbit, Courtney pondered what her bill would be.

“I wonder how much they are,” she said. “It’s kind of scaring me a little.”

The $12 cotton candy creatures included, the family said it’s worth coming to Pig Out and it gives home-schooled Braylon and Elijah something to do. The endless entertainment and booths of fair food spanning as far as the eye can see create quite the spectacle as hungry attendees come in swarms. Monday is the last day of this year’s Pig Out in the Park, operating from 11 a.m.-10 p.m.