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Mayor McShan speaks on how she feels this year’s swine celebration went
Taking a look at how the three days of Hogeye festivities went, Mayor Theresa McShan saw success, a unified community and some changes from past renditions that made this pink gathering stand out.
With over 70 vendors, food trucks, events and games to keep attendees busy, Hogeye required a substantial amount of help from its citizens.
“We had a lot of volunteers, but we could always use more,” said McShan in a one-on-one interview. “We never ran into the point where we didn’t have anything for someone to do.”
“It’s a good time, but a lot of work,” she added, noting that next year’s festival could use more male volunteers for logistic reasons, as every event and station required someone to manage it.
One missing feature that the mayor received multiple comments on was the Hogeye’s staple carnival, replaced with large inflatable games and bounce houses.
Rain concerns and an expired contract kept the park space open, but McShan believes the air-filled attractions filled the spot well, hearing nothing but compliments from fairgoers.
Additionally, the switch saved money for both the city and attendees, she believes.
“I’ve got six grandchildren, and the carnival adds up with six little ones, so I know,” she said.
Police presence was able to increase as well, not being spread out between the carnival and festival grounds.
The mayor is confident the inflatable stations will return and will need to reconsider the carnival when the time comes next year. There aren’t many traveling carnivals around anymore, and safety is always a concern, added McShan.
“There’s always focus on what we can do for the kids,” said the mayor.
Being more consolidated, the police mentioned no notable altercations at the festival when asked.
As for the events, everything ran smoothly, according to the mayor.
Bringing back the hog calling competition after many years of absence was a highlight for McShan, who personally took home the award for prettiest call. Local nine-year-old Teddy won funniest call, Pflugerville’s Jose Santos claimed most realistic call and Gil Flautt earned the best overall title. McShan hopes to bring it back with more contestants next year.
The art show and baking contest also received tremendous support, and though the street dance was moved to the VFW Post 6115 site because of rain, everyone who attended had a blast, she said.
Winning local bakers included Tamika Arnold, Elizabeth Halter, Katie Lancaster, Sue and Paige Brashar and Abigail Roth. Downtown’s Dorothy’s Fine Jewelry also raffled off a $1,500 diamond necklace during the affair.
Through it all, McShan saw a tremendous amount of comradery between locals and visitors, downtown businesses and vendors.
“Elgin is unique in that the people that we have here are all about helping, and that’s what makes this community to me the best thing in the world,” said McShan. “No matter what, folks come in and they start trying to help and trying to do, and that’s in everything we have, everything we do. What can we do, how can we help?”
Looking to the future, the expected completion of the Veterans’ Memorial Park expansion should open up more opportunities for Hogeye.
This year’s celebration was sold out of vendor spots, and with the added space when the construction clears, the mayor hopes to create more visibility for additional stations.
The park in itself will be another attraction for guests and could potentially act as a central gathering point, hopefully including an even larger whole hog roast, said the mayor.
