Bacon Capital Celebrates With Clever Hog Statues

Bacon Capital Celebrates With Clever Hog Statues Hog producers around Fairmont in Martin County, Minn., raise about 1.5 million hogs annually, making them the state’s largest hog-producing county and number five nationwide. The county is often referred to as Bacon Capital USA. Several years ago, local businessman Jeff Rouse organized a committee to promote Martin County businesses. They came up with what he calls a no-brainer idea, creating life-sized painted hog statues and placing them throughout Fairmont. Businesses embraced the concept, and 21 local artists were commissioned to paint 400-pound cement pigs with bright colors and unique designs. The result was a collection of colorful pig statues with clever names such as David Hasselhog, Paisley Pork, Hamilton, Sir Loin, Zierke Jerkie and the local co-op’s contribution, David Cooperative Field. Rouse says that after 36 statues, businesses from across the county began calling, eager to participate. Within three years, the number of pigs grew to 102 across the county. Some notable statues include “Bacon It Happen” outside Fairmont’s Profinium Bank, “Chevy Porkette” at the local Chevrolet dealership, and “Chuleta” in front of El Agave, a Mexican restaurant in downtown Fairmont. In Spanish, “chuleta” means pork chop or cutlet. More than 20 other statues are around Fairmont, including “Cris P. Bacon” by a trophy and embroidery shop. At the Best Western near the I-90 freeway stands “Torge,” painted with 43 images representing iconic Minnesota products like Spam, Hamm’s beer and Green Giant. The colorful hog stands between 5-ft. tall letters M and N, with a sign describing all the images. It has become a frequent “selfie station” for visitors. Fairmont K-6 art teacher Ashley Jenson Haake is one of those who’s gone hog wild with the idea. She’s painted 13 statues, earning her the moniker “Pig Lady.” Haake says each business that sponsors a painted pig meets with the artist to brainstorm ideas on what their statue should look like. The artists then spend 200 or more hours bringing the ideas to life. Haake says a dentist and his son decided to paint their own pig and did fantastic work. A grandmother and a newspaper editor also created colorful pigs. Each pig statue is unveiled in a special community celebration. The porker on a pedestal showcases the painted pig, its clever name, the business that sponsored it and the artist who painted it. Artists start their work on a plain concrete pig produced by SVJ Designs of Kellogg, Minn. SVJ is known nationwide for its hundreds of customized concrete products and has a three-acre show site at its plant. A local hog farmer says that all concrete pigs have been produced from the same mold, so there’s no favoritism for size, shape or breed. Haake and Rouse say they’ve paused the pig painting project to consider producing a giant hog or have kids paint piglets. They say the ideas and names are endless, just like the smiles on people’s faces as they stop at statues for pictures and often go inside the sponsoring business to buy something. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Imagine Martin (www.imaginemartin.com/going-hog-wild-project).

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