Festival of the Pig - La Pourcailhade

Festival Location: Trie Sur Baise, France

Festival Type(s): Markets, Food Festivals, Community Festivals

by © Paul Dodson 2009

Each August in the French hamlet of Trie Sur Baïse a festival is held to honour the humble swine. I'm regretting the hamlet-pig pun already. Okay so it's more a region than a hamlet but sometimes you gotta bend the truth to feature the pun. Can I start this thing again? Anyway, Trie Sur Baïse is the place, the Brotherhood of the Pig are the organisers and the hog is the main attraction.

Trie Sur Baïse has long been associated with the unassuming porker - it's one of the largest pig-rearing areas in France and features the last remaining dedicated markets to boot - and on the second Sunday of August they go all out to bask in everything porky.

There are piglet races, a pork sausage-eating contest and a competition for the best piggy outfit. There's music and dancing but the unequivocal highlight of the day is the national pig imitation competition.

Contestants squeak and squeal but there's more to it than merely making piggy noises. Each piggy call must correspond to a specific moment in a pig's life - from feeding to reproduction, you get the idea.

So if your palette pines for the pork La Pourcailhade may prove to be the perfect place to pig out!