EATON — The 51st annual Preble County Pork Festival is underway after people were worried earlier this year it would not happen because organizers canceled it due to rising costs and lack of volunteers.
>>Preble County Pork Festival returns this weekend after originally being cancelled
But the community found a way to tackle those problems and continue the decades-long tradition.
Organizers told News Center 7′s Brandon Lewis it took a bit of a journey to get to this weekend but say it’s all worth it when they see all the crowds come out.
“It’s definitely a big thing,” said Jesse Saylor, volunteer. “It brings in a lot of money, lots of people just coming together.”
They come together for all things pork and the fixings.
“We have pork chops, we have sausage, we have ham steaks,” said Robert Griffis, co-owner of RMJG Events. “Potatoes au gratin, cole slaw, dinner rolls.”
“We come here ever year,” said Ed Sullivan of West Carrollton. “We try to.”
Lewis says this year’s event was up in the air.
Rising costs have hurt people’s wallets across the Miami Valley and caused businesses to close.
It even threatened this year’s Preble County Pork Festival.
“The festival initially canceled and we were brought on to really just kind of help to give it some new eyes, new energy, new organization,” said Megan Jamison Griffis, co-owner RMJG Events.
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Megan and her husband, Robert, own a promotion company that financially invested in the festival and worked with the community to help make it happen.
“We had a kickoff meeting with community leaders, we were advertising every week,” Jamison Griffis told Lewis. “We were having press releases go out about all of our events, we added some new events that would be a draw.”
Calling people and making connections in community helped boost the numbers of volunteers needed.
“No one wanted to see it go away,” Robert Griffis said. “It’s that important.”
For some people like Mindy Sullivan of West Carrollton, this is something they mark on their calendars and are hopeful they can continue.
“I know we came with his (Ed Sullivan) parents, they live in Huber Heights and then my friend, she lives in Farmersville,” she told Lewis. “My brother lives in Waynesville and we’ve always come here.”
The festival wraps up Sunday with a full slate of activities, events and of course plenty of food.