Miss Piggy. Babe. Piglet.
Famous pigs have had a place in our movies, television shows and hearts for decades. One of my personal favorites pigs was Wilbur, from Charlotte’s Web. What happens when this fairytale childhood story turns into an actual living prize-winning porker? That would be Fred Hoiboar, of course!
Back in February, you may remember our video shoot with Fred Hoiboar, the 1000 lb boar on a mission to be crowned the Biggest Boar at the 2012 Iowa State Fair (See: March Madness: What a Boar for the video + photos).
Fred still has his sights set on bringing home the bacon. In fact, he recently caught the attention of Eric Hanson and the KCCI news team in Des Moines, Iowa. Last Thursday I headed to Iowa to cover Fred’s big moment in the spotlight. We had a fantastic day. His caretakers (one of which happens to be a former Miss Iowa) and a few of the men that came up with the big boar idea were interviewed for the story. Fred stole the show throughout the interview, giving us a tour around his pigpen and hamming it up for the camera crew. Here is the news segment, story, and pictures from the day:
Video Segment: http://bit.ly/KD9KMb
News Article: http://bit.ly/KYXYtm
What’s new with Fred?
With only 55 days until he is set to arrive at the Fair, Fred is weighing in at about 1200 pounds. He’s got 50-60 more to achieve his goal weight by August 9th. And he’s got a chance at the record for the Biggest Boar – EVER – at the Iowa State Fair! The most a pig has ever weighed is 1259 lbs and if Fred maintains his intake of 20 lbs of grain per day, he will come close to it.
If you want to support Fred on his quest to Bring Home The Bacon, you can buy a t-shirt or make a donation through his website. Proceeds go to Camp Odayin, the charity that the real Fred Hoiberg chose to be the beneficiary of the Fred Hoiboar campaign. You can learn more about Camp Odayin on Fred’s website.
Don’t worry, we will keep you posted as Fred goes “wee, wee, wee all the way to the Iowa State Fair!”
Let the countdown begin.
-Emily
