NEW ORLEANS (press release) – Hogs for the Cause kicks off its 15th annual two-day charity event with Bacon Night, sponsored by Irpino Avin Hawkins Law Firm and Just Winging It, presented by Tabasco, on Friday, March 31, at the UNO Lakefront Arena Festival Grounds. “We expect untold pounds of bacon this year, probably Guinness World Record amounts,” said Becker Hall, executive director and co-founder of Hogs for the Cause. “Our Friday night event is getting even bigger, and the teams continue to outdo themselves, all in the name of fun, or maybe it’s the bragging rights, but either way, the real winners are the families we help.” Teams of amateurs and professionals will craft and sell their unique bacon and wing dishes alongside BBQ samples. Bacon Night offers a friendly competition while national and regional bands entertain throughout the evening. The gates open on Friday at 4 p.m. General admission tickets to Bacon Night are $50, or $80 to be a Friday Judge. All ticket options are now available at hogsfest.org.
Friday night bands include Devon Allman Project featuring JoJo Hermann of Widespread Panic with special guests George Porter, Jr. and Anders Osborne. Also performing during Bacon Night are Bartees Strange, Danial Donato’s Cosmic Country, Jackie Venson, J & The Causeways, Tomar & the FCs, Nolan Potter’s Nightmare Band, Zita, Dark Side of the Swamp: Honey Island Swamp Band with Mike Dillon & The Darkside Horns. “If you ask me, ‘should I come on Friday or Saturday?’ I would not be able to pick just one,” said Rene Louapre, COO & co-founder of Hogs for the Cause. “Not only is the food outstanding each day, but the musical talent we have performing is unmatched, and you won’t want to miss any of it.” St. Paul and the Broken Bones will headline the event on Saturday, in addition to Charles Wesley Godwin, The Sheepdogs, The Heavy Heavy, The Wilder Blue, Ian Noe, The Deslondes, Zach Person, Andrew Duhon, The Stooges Brass band, and Watson.
Sponsors for the 2023 event include Children’s Hospital New Orleans, Bulleit Whiskey, Tito’s Vodka, Miller High Life, Phelps, Baldwin Subaru, Irpino Avin Hawkins Law Firm, Blue Plate, Tabasco, Capital One, Gulf Coast Bank & Trust, John P. Guste, MD Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery, Aetna, and Boucaner.
