Though not quite the main attraction (stay tuned…), the Essex County Fair also boasted "Hot Dog Pig Races." How could we pass that up?!

The way it worked was this: Next to a small PVC-lined racetrack was parked a large van housing a number of crazed (but well-trained) piglets. After assigning volunteer cheerleaders (aged 5-10) around the track, the master of porcine ceremonies and his assistant released a handful of squealing piglets from the van and corralled them into the starting gates. Each piggie was given a colored bandanna and announced by name. (I suspect that some of the pigs ran twice under different aliases.) There was also a race run by wiener dogs instead of pigs.

Based on our location beside the track, we were designated the purple team and instructed to root (so to speak) for the pigs wearing our colors. That’s our boy Arnold Schwarzenporker out front! (He choked around the final bend.)