DES MOINES, IA (CNN) -- Thousands in Iowa went hog wild for bacon this weekend. The 5th annual Blue Ribbon Bacon Festival drew the biggest crowd yet.
Whether it's fried the old fashioned way, or wrapped and stuffed, almost everyone loves bacon. Where else does a walking slab of bacon fit right in?
Tickets for this year's Baconpacaplypse sold out in a matter of minutes. The hungry crowd of 4700 came ready to sample. Mike Vogel says, "I took a hiatus of two weeks before I came here so I didn't burn out and probably won't eat much for another week or so after,"
The event showcased more than 20 restaurants and 10 different suppliers from the Midwest. Nick Spencer with Jolly Posh Foods says, "It's a lot leaner than typical American bacon and it's dry cured so it has a nice meaty texture, rich bacon flavor. It's delicious."
Newcomer Spencer of Chicago hopes this will be the first of many more Baconfests to come. He says, "Absolutely brilliant, fantastic. We have been swamped with customers sampling our food. It's just great to be here."
Here bacon isn't just for breakfast, it's on the menu for lunch, dinner, even dessert. Megan LaSuers with Carefree Patisserie says, "Bacon and butterscotch. You got salty and sweet one of the best combinations,"
So it's no surprise the bacon cupcakes and bacon brownies went fast. LaSuers says, "We knew that it would be really fast handing out all of the samples, but we didn't think in the first half hour we'd pass out over half of what we brought."
They all came to have fun and celebrate all things bacon. The fun is for a good cause. This year's Bacon Fest will donate about $10,000 back to the community.