Hogs For The Cause 2021 may have been the best fest yet. The event moved into Plaquemines Parish, where it was able to spread out beyond its typical footprint. Two stages featuring great acts including Sweet Crude, Andy Frasco, and the Old Crow Medicine Show bookended the ring of vendors; it really seemed endless due to the incredible amount of teams. Tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars were raised to benefit children suffering from cancer.
Announced at the end of Saturday night, Lard in Charge took home the ultimate High on the Hog Grand Champion prize presented by Children's Hospital New Orleans, and they won the Porkpurri prize. My personal favorite item is a festival veteran. Hupig's Pies is a team of cousins, brothers, and friends specializing in Hubig's Pies-inspired pork-stuffed hand pies covered in a sugar, chili powder, and orange juice glaze.
Of course, you probably heard about the mud! Yes, it was muddy, which has been an unwitting Hogs for the Cause tradition for the last few years. People were ready with their rain boots on to weather the slop, however, and it did not seem to stop them from trekking the entire fairground seeking out their meats.
With a successful Hogs behind us, festivals are officially back in greater New Orleans! Maybe it will be a little drier in 2022, but pigs do love the mud!
