Pigs in the City

Pigs in the city – "singing" pigs

Pigs in the City is a public art initiative coordinated by Uptown Lexington, Inc.,[1] a non-profit organization created to revitalize the downtown (or locally called "uptown") area of Lexington.[2] It includes an annual event[3] held in the fall in the uptown business district of Lexington, North Carolina, U.S., the self-proclaimed Barbecue Capital of the World.[4] It is part of a larger downtown revitalization effort[5] which has gained significant media attention due its unusual artistic display of full-size ornamental pigs and draws visitors from all over North Carolina.[6] The event is free to the public.[7]

History

Pigs on Parade displayed after the official event during the Barbecue festival. During the actual event, they are spread throughout the district instead of shown together like this.

During the 2004 “North Carolina Main Street” 24th Annual Awards Banquet, Pigs in the City won Best Downtown Special Event for their first event in 2003.[8] The event drew over 40,000 visitors from all over the state in its first year.[9] It became an annual event after 2006. The cost to "sponsor" one of the 20 pigs on display was $1,000 during the first exhibition, which paid for the initiative. There was some controversy as the "Root for the Troops" pig was stolen from its perch in front of the Army & Navy Store on Main Street.[9]

The fourth annual "Pigs in the City" event was held from May 23 through October 23, 2008, and was called "Power of the Pig." The pigs were also on display during the 25th Anniversary Lexington Barbecue Festival and during the Official Food Festival of the Piedmont Triad Region of the State of North Carolina,[10] a one-day event that usually draws up to 150,000 visitors from all over the nation to Lexington, a town of about 20,000 residents.[11]

Some of the themes for Pigs in the City 4 include Pigahontas, Tanya "Cabbage Patch" Burcham, This Little Piggy went to Market, Mr. Porkwrench, Huckleberry Pig and Girl Snout.[12]

Display

A number of artistic pigs are on display throughout the walkway of uptown Lexington, around the entire city square. The pigs are primarily made of fiberglass,[13][14] and decorated and painted by local artists,[15] each with their own theme. While some pigs are displayed for more than one year, new pigs are created for each year's display.[16]

Some of these are past entries that are now on permanent display throughout Lexington, or at Uptown Lexington, Inc. main office.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Uptown Lexington - Pigs in the City
  2. ↑ Lexington Hosts Christmas Open House
  3. ↑ Star News
  4. ↑ Lexington Tourism Authority website
  5. ↑ http://www2.nccommerce.com/eclipsfiles/19291.pdf
  6. ↑ City of Kannapolis
  7. ↑ Visit Davidson County - Free Things to Do
  8. ↑ Crabtree, Bill (July 2, 2004). "Morganton hosts NC Main Street Conference". Electricities.com. Archived from the original on July 2, 2004. Retrieved December 27, 2011.
  9. 1 2 Staff writers Amy Dominello; Tina Firesheets; Sue Schultz; Eric Swensen. "LIFE-SIZE PORKER PROMOTION PROVES POPULAR TO PUBLIC". Greensboro News-Record.
  10. ↑ State Library
  11. ↑ "The Rain Is No Match for Barbecue". Retrieved 2008-11-09.
  12. ↑ "Pigs in the City 4 brochure" (PDF). Retrieved 2008-11-09.
  13. ↑ Winston-Salem Journal - On Exhibit
  14. ↑ http://www.allbusiness.com/food%2Dbeverage/restaurants%2Dfood%2Dservice/8233846%2D1%2Ehtml. Retrieved November 4, 2008. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  15. ↑ Broughton Hodges, Vikki (May 18, 2009). "Uptown Lexington's Pigs in the City 5 unveiled". The Dispatch. Retrieved December 29, 2011. External link in |publisher= (help)
  16. ↑ The Dispatch - Uptown Lexington debuts pigs with parade Archived May 21, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.

Further reading

Coordinates: 35°49′00″N 80°15′31″W / 35.816768°N 80.258643°W / 35.816768; -80.258643

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