PITTSFIELD LIONS CLUB STEPS AWAY FROM HOSTING PIG DAYS AFTER 20 YEARS

PITTSFIELD — After two decades of organizing one of Pike County’s most recognizable summer traditions, the Pittsfield Lions Club has announced it will no longer host Pig Days.

Club members say the decision comes after 20 years of leading the large-scale community festival. While they describe the run as rewarding and successful, declining membership and a shortage of volunteers have made the multi-day event too large for the club to continue managing.

Pig Days began as a one-day celebration on July 12, 1968, originally hosted by the Chamber of Commerce in cooperation with the Pike County Pork Producers Association. The event honored local farmers in a county that ranked among the top hog-producing counties in Illinois. The first celebration featured free pork sandwiches, merchant sales, hog judging, hog weight guessing contests, a pork cook-off, Pig Day buttons and the crowning of Prince Pig.

Over the years, the festival expanded. By the early 1970s, the Miss Piglet contest, children’s painting contests, a Pittsfield High School band concert and an ice cream social had been added. By the mid-1970s, events such as the Pike Pig Derby, children’s plays, pigskin throwing contests and lawn tractor races became part of the lineup. The festival eventually moved to Saturdays and later evolved into a two-day event.

The Pittsfield Lions Club assumed responsibility for Pig Days around 2005 and has hosted it as a two-day celebration ever since. Activities during the Lions’ tenure have included free hearing screenings, children’s games, a 3K run and walk, tractor shows, pork cookout contests, live music, carnival rides, adult painting events, the Mr. Pork Chop contest and annual Pig Days T-shirts designed by Bill Beard.

Club leaders say Pig Days has served as the Lions Club’s primary fundraiser for the past 20 years and has helped support community projects throughout Pittsfield and Pike County, Illinois.

The Pittsfield Lions Club, which is 105 years old and the third oldest Lions Club in Illinois, expressed hope that another individual or organization will step forward to continue the Pig Days tradition that has spanned more than five decades. Club members have offered to share their experience and records to assist any new organizers.

Those interested in learning more may contact President Matt Sealock or Secretary Michelle Gates at pittsfieldlionsclub@gmail.com.

While Pig Days as it has been known may be ending under Lions leadership, the club says it plans to continue serving the community through smaller events and activities in the future.