Guilty!

History. Oklahoma elects is first female governor. Take that, Good Ol’ Boys Club!

Elections. About 50 percent of Oklahoma voters participated in Election Day yesterday. The other half didn’t care about the historic governor’s race, the million state questions or who will represent them at several levels of government. You guys better have a sick note from your doctor.

Government. Sales tax collections are up again in Oklahoma City. “Cautious optimism” is slowing being replaced by “unmitigated joy.”

Travel. The Oklahoma City Council decided to keep their ban on out-of-state travel for the mayor and council. With the bacon festival and five rattlesnake festivals, why would you ever need to leave the state?

Travel. The state of Oklahoma sues several online travel brokers, saying the companies owe the state millions in hotel taxes. The Travelocity Roaming Gnome pleads the fifth.

Money. Forbes names Oklahoma City the most affordable city in the country. And yet, I’m still broke.

Sam Ellis, 9, of Moore, wears two fake pig noses during Baconalia 2010, a bacon festival in Enid. On a side note, this kid is awesome!

A friend of mine emailed me this story, which is clear proof that New York is copying Oklahoma.

Many fundraisers feature women in designer gowns and men in tuxes, but over the weekend in New York City’s SoHo neighborhood — known for art galleries and hipsters — one gallery held a different kind of charity event: The Bacon-Palooza.

The dress was casual, the people were young, and the cause was to raise money for kids with autism.

The event had everything bacon: bacon the movie, bacon the musical, bacon songs, bacon art, bacon products, and, of course, bacon food and drink. And the people who paid $50 to get tickets to the three-day affair said bacon — not vegan — was the hippest food.

Sorry, Charlies. We’ve cornered the market on bacon. Ladies and gentlemen, Exhibits A and B:

• July 26: Baconlicious.
• Sept. 1: Oh, the bacon.

Baconalia is open to vendors, however we would prefer items be bacon related. Cook off rules and entry information can be found below. You can also contact Tammy Wilson at (580) 402-6732 or email info@iloveenid.com.

Just a reminder: ticket sales end Aug. 8. The countdown to bacon bliss has begun!

Baconalia, Enid’s and Oklahoma’s first and only bacon festival yes, bacon festival is slated for Saturday, August 28, 2010 from noon to 4:00 p.m. in the parking lot adjacent to the Q Spot located at 221 W. Cherokee with musical entertainment to follow inside.

Who doesnt love bacon? And what better way to celebrate our love for the meaty treat than a festival? Baconalia will consist of a cook off, a bacon eating contest, pageants, a hog calling contest, some mud wrestling, a Hog Show, and all around bacon related silliness.

Cook off entrants will compete in five categories: appetizer, main course, side dish, dessert, and beverage. The fee to enter the cook off is $25 for the first entry, $15 for each additional entry, and $80 to enter all five categories. Baconalia organizers would like to encourage local restaurants and organizations to get in the competitive spirit and participate in the cook off to vie for the Baddest Baconator in Town award. Cash prizes will also be awarded contingent upon the number of entrants.

People wishing to judge the cook off must provide an essay (hopefully witty) as to why they should be granted such a privilege. There will be five judges chosen. Essays will be judged by the Bacon Festival Delegation.

Contestants for the bacon eating contest will be chosen on a first come, first entered basis. Announcements will be made during the festival to sign up and the first 20 people to sign up will get to participate in the eating competition. The competition will consist of eating a particular amount of bacon in a limited amount of time.

No word on whether Kevin Bacon will be at Baconalia, but I bet I can find links between him and everyone there within six degrees.

Hog calling is the ability to summon hogs; however, it is more often done just for fun. The hog callers will each get 45 seconds to do their call and they will be judged on clarity, creativity, and their ability to excite the audience.

The pageant titles will be Miss Piggy Princess for girls under 12, Miss Piggy for girls 13 to 17 and Ms. Piggy for women over 18. The criterion for the pageants is to do whatever the entrant feels embodies the spirit of the event and does not in any way refer to the size of the person vying for the title. Creativity will be judged heavily.

Motorcycle owners will be able to participate in the festival by entering their motorcycles into the Hog show sponsored by the Hog Trough. Motorcycles will be listed in several categories and judged by the festival attendees. This is an all makes contest and does not have to be a particular brand to enter.

There will also be the opportunity to mud wrestle a friend for $5. If the challenged does not wish to wrestle, they may pay $10 to avoid the challenge and all funds raised will go to the American Heart Association.

Tickets for the festival must be purchased in advance and will be $20. Each ticket will include a commemorative t-shirt, a drink coupon, and all the bacon you can eat. Children 5 and under are free, 6 to 12 are $10 which include bacon and a t-shirt, and kids over 12 are the same as adults. Tickets will go on sale July 26, 2010 and sales will end August 8, 2010. There will be no entry into the festival without a valid ticket and there will be no tickets sold at the gate. This is to ensure that the amount of food prepared is commensurate with the number of tickets sold. Tickets may be purchased online at www.iloveenid.com or in person at the RSVP center located at 602 S. Van Buren or The Felt Bird at 124 E. Broadway.

Additional beverages will be available for purchase throughout the afternoon at the Q Spot where The Other Brother Band will play at 4:00 p.m. The Q Spot is an all ages venue.

Baconalia is open to vendors, however we would prefer items be bacon related.

Cook off rules and entry information can be found at www.iloveenid.com and on Facebook under Bacon-alia. You can also contact Tammy Wilson at (580) 402-6732 or email info@iloveenid.com.