Hillsborough Hog Day

The annual Hillsborough Hog Day offers family fun, good food, live music, crafters, merchandise vendors, games and rides, and the area’s largest classic auto show.

The festival starts on Friday night, when 36 pig cooking teams from all over the state roll into town. For the next 12 hours, hams and pork shoulders roast on the cookers and tall tales are exchanged. The gates will open at 6:00 pm for a concert beginning at 7:00 pm featuring local a great performer!

When day breaks on Saturday, Hog Day is already bustling with activity. While vendors, who sell everything from video games to handpainted stained glass, set up in the General Merchandise, Food, and Craft areas, you hear a persistent “thunk, thunk, thunk” and you know the pig is ready. The cooking teams chop all their cooked pig and sauce a portion for the Barbecue Tasting Judges. The rest is shuttled to the main tent, where it’s made into sandwiches and pounds of the freshest barbecue in the state. Cash prizes and trophies are awarded for best barbecue.

Orange County’s largest festival, with attendance of up to 35,000 people, is always held on the 3rd Saturday of May, so mark your calendars.

Friday, 6 pm to 10 pm
Saturday, 9 am to 6 pm