Eat bacon. Support Easton. That’s the message for bacon fans this fall as organizers of PA Bacon Fest look to reinvent the annual event.
The Greater Easton Development Partnership (GEDP), the nonprofit organization that puts on PA Bacon Fest, will offer fans a new way to enjoy some of their fest favorites — as well as a host of creative, new dishes — in the first PA Bacon Fest Restaurant Week. PA Bacon Fest Restaurant Week will kick off Nov. 2 and run through Nov. 8, featuring bacony eats, drinks, and treats from 15+ restaurants throughout the Easton area. It will complement the PA Bacon Fest Experience, which is a limited, ticketed event featuring live music and six food vendors offering their bacon best in an open-air tent at Hugh Moore Park.
“We’re making lemonade from lemons this year,” said Marcy McKinney, manager-Special Events & Promotions for GEDP. “We can’t have the same festival we have in years past. So this year we’re celebrating the Easton chefs and restaurateurs who have helped make this festival so incredible the last nine years.”
McKinney notes that many of the dishes on these menus are specialty items that will only be available during PA Bacon Fest Restaurant Week. Participants include: Aman’s Artisan Indian Cuisine, 3rd & Ferry Fish Market, Bank Street Creamery, The Bayou Easton, Black & Blue, Colonial Pizza & Spaghetti House, Easton Taco & Rotisserie, The Greek Meat Guy, Khanisa’s Pudding Bar, OWowCow, Pearly Baker’s Alehouse, Porters’ Pub, Scratch Beer/Bread and Pizza, The Standard Restaurant, Stoke Coal Fire Pizza & Bar, Sweet Girlz, Tierra De Fuego, and Two Rivers Brewing Co. PA Bacon Fest is typically the largest fundraiser for the nonprofit which oversees the Easton Farmers’ Market, Easton Main Street Initiative, Easton Community Gardens, Easton Ambassadors, West Ward Community Initiative, Easton Compost Program, and events such as Live at the Falls, Easton Out Loud, Peace Candle and Spring into Easton.
2020 necessitated changes for many of GEDP’s events and programs, but organizers recognized events like PA Bacon Fest draw visitors to Easton, who in turn support the city’s local businesses.
“2020 has been difficult for our nonprofit and our events,” said Jared Mast, executive director-GEDP. “But we’re also acutely aware of how much not offering any event would affect our restaurants and retailers who count on PA Bacon Fest for part of their annual revenue.”
Mast said hosting a restaurant week in lieu of the traditional festival is a way that GEDP can draw support to the local businesses in our community.
“We realize not all of our visitors are comfortable yet with dine-in experiences and we respect that,” Mast said. “PA Bacon Fest Restaurant Week lets you choose the dining option you’re most comfortable with — whether you prefer to dine at the restaurant, or pick up curbside and enjoy options at home.”
A first for everything In the nine years that PA Bacon Fest has been around, it’s been named one of the country’s “5 Can't-Miss Bacon Festivals” (Parade.com), landed a spot on the top 300 festivals in the world (Fest300.com), and been featured on the Discovery Channel’s “Road Trip Masters” and ABC’s “Localish” — but there’s never been a restaurant week.
“Our chefs and restaurateurs put their creativity — and their love of bacon — on display with these menus. And now we get a whole week of bacon goodness, instead of just a weekend,” McKinney says.
“We are excited to be able to participate and support the GEDP,” said Jonathan Davis, co-owner of Pearly Baker’s Alehouse. “And by having a restaurant week in lieu of the festival, it allows our chef to have more creative freedom with the menu. Instead of cooking only a few things for the masses, we are able to have some fun with the menu and offer more of a selection to our guests.”
Menus for PA Bacon Fest Restaurant Week can be found at pabaconfest.com/restaurant-week.
“Think of it this way, you can experience some of the flavors you love from PA Bacon Fest, but on your own schedule,” McKinney said.
In past years, volunteers at PA Bacon Fest have asked for donations for the nonprofit, to offset the live music, events, and programming GEDP hosts throughout the year in Easton. This year supporters are encouraged to show their PA Bacon Fest love and support all they cherish about Easton by donating at support.eastonpartnership.org/giving.
PA Bacon Fest is possible thanks to the generous support of our partners, the City of Easton and Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor, and our sponsors; Breakaway Farms, Giant, Law Offices of Edward Shaughnessy and Lidl.
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