Sack Suppers made by Kid's Food Basket /Steven Depolo
BaCon, no, not "bacon," BaCon, will give attendees the chance to sample a variety of dishes from local restaurants starring the ever-popular breakfast meat. On Saturday, November 2 from 3-8 p.m., DeltaPlex Arena and Conference Center will host West Michigan's first bacon and beer festival. Tickets are $20 and are available online and at the DeltaPlex from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday.
"The goal is celebrating bacon," says Chris Hudson, Director of Event Development and Sales at the DeltaPlex. "It's a fun tasting event that allows restaurants to look outside of what they normally do to create something especially for bacon."
"There aren't a lot of dishes in which bacon is the star; bacon is usually a side, or bacon goes onto something else," he says. "But bacon is the star of this event."
Local restaurants and breweries are going outside the box to create dishes and brews that feature bacon in unique ways. Attendees can look forward to dishes from Amore, CityFlatsHotel's CitySen Lounge, Grist Mill, McKay's and many others.
CitySen Lounge will be creating a spin on the peanut butter and jelly sandwich featuring a bacon jelly. Other restaurants will experiment with lamb and beef bacon.
The Hideout Brewing Company will bring along three unique brews featuring bacon, including a maple bacon, regular bacon and bacon and waffles stout. Our Brewing Company will be providing a maple bacon chocolate stout.
Participating restaurants and breweries in the festival will compete for awards in three different categories: best dish, most creative use of bacon and most popular dish.
Some proceeds from the event will benefit West Michigan's Kid's Food Basket, a charity that fights child hunger in the greater Grand Rapids and Muskegon areas. Attendees who donate an item from the charity's wish list for their Supper Sack program at the event will receive a $3 discount from their ticket.
Hudson says DeltaPlex wanted the festival to benefit a charity whose effect could be seen in the West Michigan community.
"Go to the grocery store, grab anything, like a box of granola bars, and you get a discount," says Hudson. "And you've done something good for the kids in your community, not just an overall food charity."
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