Tayler Etzel, Iowa State University Bacon Expo co-chair, shares her perspective on the only student organized bacon event in the nation.
"Bacon Expo is the largest, student organized, bacon celebration in the nation and we really pride ourselves on that. So each and every year we try to bring in more vendors who bring in more innovative bacon treats whether it be regular strips of bacon or bacon strips with different flavorings or even like bacon cupcakes or bacon gelato even is here this year. So we have a lot of cool things and so whether it be the bacon itself like the food you eat or our educational entertainment activities because we have a lot of all of those. We just try to make it bigger and better each year and try to make it more fun to get more people to come to Ames for Bacon Expo.
One thing that we are known for that we have each year is a live display so we have live pigs which is part of one of our educational booths. And the pigs are donated from the Iowa State University Swine Teaching Farm.
Bacon is more than just a salty, savory breakfast food to me. To me bacon means more than that. It's just getting people together. I mean look at what we’re doing here. Bacon just really brings people together and helps student involvement grow. That’s why I like bacon and why I’m in Bacon Expo."