There’s an annual celebration going on in Henry County this Labor Day weekend that, depending on how you look at it, may or may not be based on…fake news!
It’s true that more than six decades ago the annual Hog Days festival was started after a Congressional measure deemed Kewanee the Hog Capital of the World — a designation made partially based on hog production.
But, even Hog Days co-organizer Larry Flannery — a former radio broadcaster — tells WGIL he knows the importance of trusting, but verifying.
“I always do point out to people that, because of the way we fact-check everything nowadays, Henry County no longer is no longer the top producer of hogs,” says Flannery. “But, ‘[Hog Days] has gone on long enough that it’s like ‘you know what? We’re still going to celebrate every year.’ So, that’s what we do!”
There’s still a celebration of the hog during Hog Days, in what has been called the World’s Largest Pork Chop Barbecue, with both pork chops and pork burgers for sale. That’s in addition to live entertainment, a carnival, a parade tomorrow (later today), and other activities. But, Flannery says technically, Hog Days started earlier in the week.
“The Barrow Show, which is held and put on by the East Campus of Black Hawk College south of Kewanee…is the longest-running event of Hog Days,” says Flannery. “The very first Hog Days in 1947, that was the main event at it — a barrow show — which, back then, they held right on the city streets in downtown Kewanee.”
CLICK HERE to find out more details about Hog Days.
