I'm not a huge meat eater, and eat vegetarian meals most of the time, but I would never turn down the opportunity for some good bacon or pork. I've made pulled pork before, 19 pounds of it to be exact, and I know it's always a crowd-pleaser. So, I knew The Great Canadian Baconfest in London, Ontario would bring crowds of carnivores to its inaugural event.

Local event planner and bacon enthusiast, Sarah Reynolds, wanted to showcase local pork producers and butchers, and hold Canada's first bacon festival. The Canada Day event was held just outside the city at the Arva Flour Mill and all proceeds from admission went towards restoring the mill.

Admission was only $5 at the entrance, and most of the food and samples only cost between $1 and $5. From experience, I know that when deciding where to eat, the place with the biggest line is always the best. The biggest line (about 100 people when I went) seemed to be at The Catering Company, who were offering pulled pork sandwiches, B.L.T's, BBQ Bacon sandwiches and a Mediterranean pulled pork sandwich with lettuce, tomatoes and tzatziki. There were also serving each sandwich with a choice of potato salad, coleslaw and macaroni salad, as well as a mini cupcake sprinkled with bacon bits. Yes, a bacon cupcake.

I tried the pulled pork sandwich with a side of macaroni salad. The pork was a little dry for my taste, as I usually like it smothered in BBQ sauce, but the meat was surprisingly light and fluffy, not heavy like some pulled pork. I love dipping the bun of the sandwich in some kind of coleslaw or mayonnaise based salad, so the macaroni salad was a perfect, creamy side. And, the bacon cupcake was heavenly. The cake was light, with sweet icing, chocolate sauce and crispy, salty bits of bacon on top.

I also sampled spiced, twisted bacon from The Whole Pig. They twisted the bacon strips then coated them in brown sugar, mustard, cinnamon, nutmeg and cayenne pepper. The bacon stick was crispy with a hint of sweetness and would satisfy any bacon craving. They also had spicy and mild pepperete sticks to sample, and the vendor told me they could deliver fresh pork, bacon, burgers and sausages to my door. This is a service I may be taking advantage of in the future.

Festivals in London always have a small-town feel to them and it was great to spend the afternoon sitting on the grass in the sun, eating bacon, and seeing the crowds of people and children having fun and sampling local food. There was even a small petting zoo for the kids, with turkeys, bunnies and chicks. It's a good thing there were no pigs, as they probably would have known something was up.

Laura Downs is an editor, writer and blogger currently based in London, Ontario.