Townsquare Media and Greene Beverage's second annual Bacon & Brewfest was Saturday; I didn't think it was possible to top last year's incredible event, but we did it, y'all. It was totally awesome!

Leslee and I snapped a selfie at the airport Friday morning--this was before we got all sweaty and gross! (Meg Summers/TSM)
Leslee and I snapped a selfie at the airport Friday morning--this was before we got all sweaty and gross! (Meg Summers/TSM)
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I spent most of the day Friday helping to prepare for Bacon and Brewfest. Our Live Events Manager, Leslee, and I met volunteers at the Tuscaloosa Regional Airport to put up tents. It was SO HOT outside, but our volunteers still busted it. It felt like the eighth layer of Hades under the August sun, but we all worked together to prepare the site for Tuscaloosa's best beer fest. The rest of my Friday afternoon was crazy: errands to run, signs to design--all these little things added up to one busy day.

Saturday started with a Target run--I needed new sunglasses and ended up buying a skirt and shoes and sunscreen and just basically a bunch of stuff I don't need; it's scientifically impossible for you to leave that store without dropping at least $50. Seriously. It cannot be done. After going to the store, I came back home so I could slather my pasty white self with SPF RIDIC. I got ready and hit the road.

Our glasses this year were mini pilsners! (Meg Summers/TSM)
Our glasses this year were mini pilsners! (Meg Summers/TSM)
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I was psyched when I arrived at the airport. We had about two hours before the gates opened for our VIP guests, and I don't think any of us had a chance to sit down or think. We were B-U-S-Y. We had to prep the sampling glasses (which, BTW, were mini pilsners courtesy of Southern Ale House), the merch table, our banners--all that stuff.

We let our VIP guests into Bacon and Brewfest at 1 p.m. I got to hand out our sampling glasses, and after all our VIPs were good to go, I had a chance to walk around. We had so many breweries and restaurants this year that I didn't even get to visit them all!

The crew from Southern Ale House brought little biscuits that were ah-maze-ing! (Meg Summers/TSM)
The crew from Southern Ale House brought little biscuits that were ah-maze-ing! (Meg Summers/TSM)
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All of our restaurants brought their A-Game. Sweet Home Food Bar had candied bacon sugar cookies, and they were stupid good. I could have eaten a baker's dozen! Taste Buds had bacon wrapped onion rings. Brothers Express Pizza Cafe had their award-winning maple bacon gelato. Southern Ale House had these little candied bacon roll/muffin things that were just to-die-for. There was SO MUCH good food.

It's hard to pick a favorite, but if I had to do so I'd give all the props to The Levee. They were serving bacon and pimento cheese balls that they fried on-site. When you got to their tent, you were served a golden-fried ball of heaven. I don't even LIKE pimento cheese, but I would have slapped my own momma if she tried to take my cheese ball from me. It was THAT GOOD.

GUYS. GUYS. PEOPLE. THESE WERE SO GOOD I CAN'T EVEN. (Meg Summers/TSM)
GUYS. GUYS. PEOPLE. THESE WERE SO GOOD I CAN'T EVEN. (Meg Summers/TSM)
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And the food was just half of the fun! I really enjoyed being able to walk around and talk to all the different breweries. Band of Brothers, Tuscaloosa's newest craft brewery, brought their incredible Saison. It's my fave--it's so crisp and refreshing and just DANG GOOD. Every time I walked to their tent they had a crazy long line; our attendees were psyched to drink some of Band of Brothers' amazing brews.

The guys from Band of Brothers have some amazing brews! (Meg Summers/TSM)
The guys from Band of Brothers have some amazing brews! (Meg Summers/TSM)
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I got to meet the crew from Back Forty, too! This was a big deal for me: Back Forty is based out of Gadsden, Alabama, the city where I was born. Most of my family is from Gadsden, so I had to represent. Back Forty brought their dynamite Trade Days Cuban Coffee Stout. I wanted to try this one because the name has a special meaning for me--as a kid my Paw-Paw would take me to Trade Days, which is kind of like a huge yard sale/community event hybrid that happens on Saturdays outside of Gadsden.

I was able to walk around and talk to a lot of people. It made me so happy--and proud--to see that everyone was having a great time. We did get some rain on our parade--literally. The air traffic controller from the airport called us and advised us to have everyone take shelter while a thunderstorm passed. After the threat was over, we had everyone come back into the festival for more beer and bacon.

Even though I got soaking wet from the rain, I still looked pretty good! (Meg Summers/TSM)
Even though I got soaking wet from the rain, I still looked pretty good! (Meg Summers/TSM)
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Bacon and Brewfest was awesome, and I can't wait to do it again! Thanks to Greene Beverage and all the breweries who joined us this year, and to all our restaurants for serving up some of the best bacon dishes I've ever tasted. And thank YOU! Bacon and Brewfest wouldn't happen without y'all!

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