EATON — “Is the Pork Festival coming back in 2022 … Yes.”
This simple post of Facebook sparked excitement across the Miami Valley.
In late April, the board of the Pork Festival announced the decision to suspend the festival in 2022, saying, “The continuing rise in cost of products has made it impossible to maintain our aging equipment, purchase new equipment and continue the festival in a traditional fashion.”
During a public meeting Thursday in Eaton, the festival board, county commissioners and the public met where the decision was made to bring the festival back this year.
“I think it’s going to absolutely bring money into the town that the town needs and brings the tourists to all of our shops. I think we absolutely need the Pork Festival,” Rachel Miller of Eaton told News Center 7′s John Bedell.
>> RELATED: Annual Preble County Pork Festival canceled due to rising costs, lack of volunteers
The Preble County Commission said the festival board will hire the promotion company RMJG Events to work with the board to get the festival back up and running.
The county will put up $100,000 to jumpstart it, while RMJG will put in another $100,000.
The promotional company will then be reimbursed by gross sales from the Pork Festival, according to the commission.
Co-owner of RMJG Events Robert Griffis told News Center 7, “It gets us from ground zero back to where we need to be in terms of securing orders from suppliers and getting all the details worked out.”
Griffis and his wife, Megan, own RMJG Events.
“We saw where there was a need and we wanted to see where we could put some effort behind it and save it. And it’s a testament to the community … that’s the positive part of it … is seeing everyone pull together,” Robert said.
“I grew up in Preble County and so I’ve known the Pork Festival my entire life and I couldn’t imagine not having it,” Megan said.
The Pork Festival and RMJG Events are working on getting a three-year deal in place that would create a partnership between the Pork Festival board and RMJG to run the festival through 2024.
Griffis told News Center 7 that his company will take over the day-to-day budgeting and contracting and the Pork Festival will assist with their expertise.
The Griffis are looking for sponsors as another way to help bankroll the event.
“They’ve given back to the community for 50-plus years and now we’re going to be asking the community to give back to the Pork Festival so we can get this thing going,” Robert said.
The Preble County Pork Festival will be back the third full weekend in September.
©2022 Cox Media Group
