Bacon Fest sells out in Coram
Why: Local cooks and restaurants offer sweet and savory samples of bacon-flavored foods at this festival devoted to bacon.
When: Sun. 3/15, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Where: All Star Arena, 635 Middle Country Rd., Coram
How much: $14, free ages 2 and younger ($10 advance) Credit: iStock
Long Islanders have spoken, and apparently bacon is more popular than chocolate or beer. High on the Hog: Long Island Bacon Fest, which takes place this Sunday, March 15, at Coram’s All Star Arena, has sold out.
Thousands of the $14 advance tickets were sold by Wednesday, and Eric Bell, the event’s organizer, said that he was stunned by the public’s response. “I ran the Long Island Chocolate Festival in Sayville in November, the Hops and Props craft beer festival in Garden City in February — and I’ve never seen anything like this,” he said. "To say that the response was unprecedented is an understatement.”
The celebration of all things bacon will feature more than 30 bacon specialists selling bacon that's been covered with chocolate, wrapped around chicken wings, simmered into chowder, stuffed into cannoli and empanadas, sprinkled on crumb cakes and doughnuts, baked into brownies and pretzels and much more.
The event runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and, depending on when current ticket holders arrive and how long they stay, the festival will try to accommodate customers who show up at the door. He is mindful that the vendors’ supplies are also limited, and makes no promises. He said that he will be updating the event’s website, libaconfest.com, and Facebook page (facebook.com/LIBaconFest) throughout the day with real-time information.
To satisfy Long Island’s appetite for bacon, Bell hopes to create another event in the fall. “But this time, we’ll get a larger venue and spread it over two days,” he said.
