Image courtesy of Michiko VartanianThe winners of the Veggie Eating Contest at the SoCal Pignic. These big eaters ate their way through carrots to beat out the competition.
Each guest was treated to a complimentary health check and grooming so their piggies could feel fresh for their big day. Last year, we did not anticipate as many guests as we had so we made sure there were more health checkers and groomers on hand this year. We also provided pens for people who do not have a play pen as well as fresh veggies for all the piggies, generously donated by Sprouts Farmers Market.
There were two raffles held and it was so fun watching people bid on items, such as tickets to an Angels game, passes to The Discovery Science Center, a basket of balls from The Busy Bunny, flat cavies from Flat Bonnie… and so many other great items! There was also a silent auction and people won fun things, such as tickets to Six Flags Magic Mountain, a Sleepypod Pet Travel Carrier, and a beautiful watercolor from Guinea Days Art Studio.
As if being able to win a couple flat cavies weren’t good enough, Flat Bonnie’s care-takers showed up and put on a GuineaPoo scavenger hunt. The first 10 people who found Flat Bonnie’s care-takers got a free GuineaPoo.
And what Pignic is complete without great food? Snopel’s Bakery was on hand providing delicious baked goods. Phoney Baloney’s and zPizza also donated yummy treats. Unfortunately, we had planned on maybe 20 more guests than last year, not 120 more! So the food sold out rather quickly, but we did have snack items available and, next year, we’ll have to knock on more food doors.
Image courtesy of Michiko VartanianThe guinea pig with a lobster costume, complete with platter and garnish.
We were also fortunate enough to have Dr. Sari Kanfer, of Exotic Animal Care Center, stop by to talk to us about cavy care. Dr. Kanfer has been practicing for over 15 years and she has a special place in her heart for cavies and bunnies. She talked to us about the latest research in vitamin C supplementation and heart disease. I was glad to hear that the 1cc of liquid vitamin C I give my boys each day is the right dosage and that this can help prevent many of the problems she sees in older pigs, like arthritis, due to vitamin C deficiency.
Perhaps the highlight of the day, though, were the contests. The first contest was the costume contest. There were over 25 entrants, including an angel, a biker piggy, a convict, a bunny, and a wizard. The winner was a lobster… and not just any lobster. This lobster came on a platter, complete with sauce and garnish. The second contest was the veggie eating contest. Apparently, there were a lot of hungry piggies in California that day, because twice as many piggies entered that contest. Each piggy got a baby carrot and it was hilarious to watch a circle of over 50 piggies eating carrots at the same time. Some may have been too full from the Sprouts veggies because they just didn’t seem that interested in their carrots. But there were three who clearly had an appetite. It was a close race between those three but a tiny little girl took first. This is the second year in a row that a small piggy has beaten out some much larger competition to be crowned “Best Eater at the Pignic!”
Image courtesy of Michiko VartanianOne guinea pig attending the Pignic was dressed as Linny the Guinea Pig from the animated series 'Wonder Pets.'
The SoCal Pignic is sponsored by Orange County Cavy Haven as a way to celebrate not only people who have adopted from us but all the people who love their pigs and want to learn more about them and just have fun. OC Cavy Haven founder and CEO, Nicole Peeples, who had a major hand in organizing the event, was extremely pleased with how things turned out. “We were overwhelmed by the support of our community and honored to have Dr. Kanfer as our guest speaker. This has become our biggest and most popular event and we are so lucky to have use of the lovely grounds at IACC. We hope we can do this again next year.”
I hope this article encourages others to start Pignics in their hometowns. So many of our Facebook fans wished they could come to SoCal for the event. But we started the Pignic here because we didn’t have one in our area so maybe other people can do the same thing. Yes, it’s hard work but the fun is well worth it. All you need is a team of awesome volunteers, like the Cavy Haven team, a venue, and some piggies. Well, okay, it’s a bit more than that, but if anyone is interested in learning how to organize a Pignic in your area, you can visit Pignic Central for more ideas or you can contact me at cavyhaven@gmail.com and I’ll be happy to offer tips.
For more information on Orange County Cavy Haven, please visit our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/cavyhaven
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