It’s a pairing you might not have expected to go so well together, but the Bacon & Cider Festival has proved that pork and craft cider are a match made in heaven.

The festival is back for its second year and is scheduled to return on Friday, April 27th at the Laurel Packinghouse in the downtown core of Kelowna. The event is all about showcasing The Okanagan Valley’s craft cider industry and providing inspired, bacon-themed food pairings to go with your cider samples. The founders got the idea for creating such an event after noticing a conspicuous absence of festivals celebrating the province’s craft cider industry among BC’s rich array of beer and wine festivals. And the bacon? Well, that’s just an added bonus, because who doesn’t love bacon?

The Bacon & Cider Festival is a 19+ event. Tickets cost $50 per person and come with four tokens to spend at the cideries and hot food stations. Extra tokens can be purchased for $2 each. Bacon tapas are complimentary during the event and are meant to be enjoyed with the variety of cider offerings. On top of getting to enjoy all things bacon- and cider-related, you’ll be treated to fantastic musical entertainment throughout the whole evening. Each ticket also includes a mini mason jar tasting glass as a keepsake. By attending the festival, you’ll also be financially contributing to the Okanagan College Culinary Arts Student Learners Award Fund, as it is the charitable partner for the festival.

The first annual Bacon & Cider Festival was a huge success, drawing over 350 people to the Laurel Packinghouse on the night of the event. The historic Laurel Packinghouse was built over a century ago, in 1917, using bricks made from the clay of nearby Knox Mountain. The area, which was once a packing district, is now known as Kelowna’s Cultural District. The Laurel Packinghouse was saved from demolition by a community effort in 1982, was turned into a designated heritage building, and was revitalized in 2010. Today, its gallery space is a popular venue for events.

This year’s Bacon & Cider Festival is sure to draw a large crowd once again. Over 20 of the very best craft cideries will be in attendance, pouring samples of their latest offerings. The bacon-inspired dishes that festivalgoers can pair with their cider samples will, like last year, be prepared and presented by students from the Okanagan College Culinary Arts program. The program’s Chef Bernard Casavant and his students will be designing appetizer-sized starters, salads, mains, and desserts, each with bacon as the main star ingredient. Use your tokens wisely, as you’ll likely be tempted to try out all of their mouth-watering creations.

Though the Bacon & Cider Festival focuses on Okanagan Valley craft cider, you’ll find some vendors pouring beer, wine, and spirits as well. Whichever of BC’s craft alcoholic beverage industries most tickles your taste buds, you’re sure to have a fantastic evening tasting the samples and sampling the food pairings at the BC Bacon & Cider Festival.