Somehow we’re almost upon the weekend when Mill River Park in Stamford will transform into a swine-lovers paradise with the launch of the 2nd Annual Pork in the Park festival. Whether you go on Saturday, Sunday, or even head out both days, there are plenty of things planned to not only whet your whistle, but to also satisfy those BBQ and food cravings. So, let’s dig a little deeper and see all the great things planned for this event. But first, here are the deets: entry is $10, $5 for kids, and free for kids 5 and under. The hours for 7/12 are 11 am – 9 pm and 7/13 from 12-5.
OmNomCT Cooking Demos on Saturday, 7/12
Chef Carlos Baez of The Spread, Norwalk – 1:45
Chef Baez is Executive Chef of award-winning and boisterous The Spread in Norwalk, CT. He is known for putting his own touch on classic dishes and putting his own stamp on SoNo and CT dining with adventurous and flavorful dishes.
Chef Juan Gonzalez of Cask Republic, Stamford – 2:30
Executive Chef Gonzalez runs the kitchen at Cask Republic, putting out a menu full of amazing gastropub food. With Chef Gonzalez at the helm, Cask Republic has quickly become one of the most popular spots in Stamford, if not all of Fairfield County.
Ernst Turnier of Cafe Turnier Catering, Norwalk – 3:15
Ernst Turnier was the chef and owner of Cafe Turnier in Norwalk, a highly-rated cafe serving up classic and inspired Haitian food. Although he recently closed his restaurant, he continues to cook great food through Cafe Turnier Catering.
Food
BBQ Town: there will be plenty of vendors for spices, rubs, and more along with speciality BBQ
Vanchetta Food Truck: all their awesome sandwiches and sides will be pumping out this weekend. Our faves are the Porchetta sandwich and the Patatas Bravas, but you get what you want.
Lobstercraft Food Truck: they’ll have their famous lobster rolls and their amazing mac & cheese that ALWAYS sells out. Our favorites are, well, all of the rolls.
Fryborg Food Truck: dear God, these are some of the best fries around…it’s amazing to think they are coming out of a food truck. Pick your toppings, pick your custom ketchup, and pig out.
Bar Q, Stamford: both Bar Q and Bobby Q’s will be smokin’ up some great BBQ to satisfy that deep down craving. You’ve got all day, so have some lunch AND dinner! It’s the weekend, the calories don’t count…
Bobby Q’s, Westport
*Note that the Makin’ Bacon competition set for Sunday will not be happening this year.*
Drinks
In addition to lemonade and lots of other thirst-quenching drinks, Blue Point and Goose Island breweries will be represented with some brews. So, make sure to bring your ID.
BBQ Competition
This year, the competition is two days long. On Saturday, check out the People’s Choice Competition which you can help out with. Best Wings at 2 and Best Ribs at 4. On Sunday, the teams battle it out with their smokers and grills to see who’s the best in an official KCBS competition. Up for grabs are honors with chicken, ribs, pork butt, and brisket with the winners and Grand Champion announced at 4 pm. Which of these BBQ teams will take home the pork?
ACK-Que
BBQ Mafia
Chicken Chokers BBQ
Greenwitch Que Co.
Herding Smoke
Hot Hands BBQ
QueGasm
R2BQ
Relaxin’ Jack
Star Spangled BBQ
Stubborn Bull BBQ (Grand Champion last year)
Taino Smokehouse CT
That’s Our Que! (an OmNomCT favorite with Kris doing a demo last year at Pork in the Park!)Q Haven BBQ
Yours In BBQ
ZBQ
Music
Saturday:
Snooty Garland – 12:00
The Big Takeover – 1:15
Terrapin – 2:35
Gravity – 3:55
Jen Durkin Band – 5:20
Funky Dawgz Brass Band – 7:00
Sunday:
Freeride – 12 Pimpinella – 1:15 Merlin – 2:30 Jump the Gunn – 3:45Kid’s Kanyon
Not only will there be pig races, but there will be a mechanical bull station, and lots of other fun games to play.
Pork in the Park
July 12:
July 13:
Cost: $10
Address: Mill River Park (across from Trump building in Stamford)
Stamford, CT
Parking: any of the nearby parking garages work, but we’re preferential to Target’s because it tends to be cheaper.
Dan and Kristien Del Ferraro
OmNomCT 
As an avid foodie and visitor to many street fairs and festivals in New York City, I was excited to hear about a new festival in Stamford, CT. My friend and I went to Pork in the Park with high expectations, excitement and pangs of hunger. Unfortunately, we were sad and very unhappy to see that when we arrived at 4pm, most of the vendors were either eating, seasoning food or relaxing. There were only two vendors serving food. One of the vendors being the chef’s station. No signs were posted indicating there was a chef’s station nor were there any signs indicating there was an additional fee of $5.00 to register to eat at the chef’s station. The chef’s line was extremely long. We were in line for about 20 minutes, when the cashier walked over to a couple, 3 people ahead of us, to mention that she was counting people to make sure there was enough food for the line of people up to them; the couple to whom she was speaking. Her announcement was low enough, so I was able to hear most of what she was saying, but not loud enough so the long line of folks standing behind me could hear and make an informed decision to stay or go elsewhere. We decided to leave the line and the Park. I spoke to one to one of the general admission’s takers before leaving Pork in the Park and was refunded the $20.00 general admission fee.
We left the Pork in the Park event, hungry and bewildered and questioning whether We will return next year.
Were there two segments to this festival? Like a 12noon-3pm, intermission to prepare food for the latter segment and then resume from 4:30pm-9pm ?
Hopefully you can shed some light.
Thank you,
Yvette Hendrickson
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Hey Yvette, this is certainly not good. First of all, we didn’t know about the additional fee, either, and we didn’t see it anywhere on the website, so that must have been really disappointing to you. What if you didn’t have the $5 and you waited in that line?
As for the two segments, no, there weren’t two segments to the festival…just two different days. Not sure if they ran out of food and had to replenish or what else happened.
We feel like you should definitely share your experience with the organizers so they can fix whatever mistakes there were for next year. Here’s the page to send them a message: http://www.porkintheparkbbq.com/#!vendors/c2q4
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I dunno… I LOVE pork. LOVE. But I honestly don’t think I can eat it while pig races are going on.
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Yeah, you’re right, we had that same problem when they had pig races at Blues, Views, & BBQ in Westport. We were BBQ judges and during a break we watched the races…man, it felt soooo wrong.
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