Much remains in the planning stages of the 2025 “Big Pig Shindig” and Trigg County Country Ham Festival, but one development became clear during Thursday’s committee meeting in Cadiz.
On Main Director Shannon Booth confirmed that the old Farmer’s Market location — right between the Cadiz Baptist Annex and the beloved Renaissance Stage — will be the site for this year’s “Locals Lane.”
It’s here, she said, where vendors of Cadiz and Trigg County origin will have a space to share their goods and services. The rental spots will wrap around the outside of the plat, and picnic tables will be located in the middle.
Cadiz-Trigg County Tourism Director and Festival Committee Chair Beth Sumner said it’s “going to work well.”
In the past, this area has been a hot spot for spill-over food vendors, and Booth told committee member and city councilwoman Brenda Price that most of them are being relocated to far more agreeable locations among the festival.
Booth and Sumner also confirmed that the new Farmer’s Market location, on the old IGA lot and next to the main entertainment stage, will be heavily utilized during the festival, as well.
— Speaking of entertainment: Sumner said it was “difficult” to get a full picture of what the festival’s budget looks like, considering there are always moving parts with sponsorships, T-shirt sales and other revenue streams.
However, she re-emphasized that the Cadiz-Trigg County Tourism Commission will once again appropriate $20,000 for the staging, sound and musical acts coming this year, and that a sponsorship drive is going “as we speak.”
A Saturday night headliner discussion has some momentum, she said, but nothing definitive yet. However, other bands are in place.
— Sumner shared that the Trigg County Country Ham Festival did win the Edge Media Group’s 2024 “Best of Western Kentucky” competition under the festivals and events category, and that it would lead to unique advertising opportunities ahead of this October’s celebration.
— Sumner confirmed that with Trigg County Schools undergoing cafeteria renovations this summer and early fall, a new local partner is being sought to create the massive amounts of dough required for the large Ham & Biscuit. An announcement on said partner should come at a later date.
— Several auxiliary events tied to the festival were affirmed, as well, most notably a 5K Ham Run being organized by Booth, as well as the return of the Ham Fest Canoe Race through Cadiz Police Chief Tyler Thomas, who plans to make a mid-July run along the route before clearing more of the path in the late fall.
All told, Thomas noted that a winning tandem could shoot the route “under an hour.”
— Thomas also said that, as of this week, nearly 50 ADA-compliant handicap parking spots have been mapped out in the downtown, and include locations near the Cadiz Christian Church, the West Cadiz Park, the Burger Barn property and the Cadiz Baptist Church.
The hope, he said, is to find more room for handicap access, especially for vans, and to possibly procure reusable signage and posts to mark these spots more effectively for the weekend, instead of using volunteers or laminated sheets that can be torn up or moved by rude motorists.
Early cost estimates put this project around $1,000.
