Full disclosure—I'm a vegetarian. So yes, it's probably unexpected that I'm writing about how amazing Camp Bacon sounds, but I wasn't always an herbivore, so even I can appreciate the overwhelming power of a great piece of bacon (or several). Meat lovers and breakfast aficionados get excited, because the summer camp you've been dreaming of is here and it's just as perfect as it sounds.

WTF is Camp Bacon?

Camp Bacon is a fundraiser for the Southern Foodways Alliance and the 4H Club of Washtenaw County, and it consists of five days of bacon-related culinary adventures.  

The Camp Bacon website describes the event as a place where "bacon lovers, bacon makers, cooking school teachers, culinary historians, writers, statisticians, sociologists, chefs, roller derby professionals and other pork-driven people from all over the globe" gather in Ann Arbor, Michigan to explore all things bacon-related. 

Basically, its the adult version of going to Disney World—a magical place, but with inventive pork programming instead of fairies and princesses.

What exactly happens at Camp Bacon?

Every year, there's a slightly different game plan. This session, starting on May 31, kicks off with a "food film festival," featuring a collection of short documentaries from Southern Foodways Alliance. There will of course be bacon-themed snacks to feast on while watching the films, ranging from caramel bacon popcorn and Cuban pork zingers to bacon & blue dates and apple bacon crisp.

The fun continues on June 1st, which begins with "Bakin' with Bacon," a lesson for enterprising chefs on how to incorporate bacon into popular baked goods. This event is hosted at Zingermann's Bakehouse and features recipes for peppered bacon farm bread, bacon cheddar scones, sweet and salty bacon pecan sandy cookies, and maple glazed bacon apple doughnuts.

The night concludes with a pig roast at the 8th Annual Bacon Ball and a "Bacon Beautiful Music" performance at Club Above.

But wait, there's more

We're not even halfway there yet. June 2nd gives camp-goers a second shot at the "Bakin' with Bacon" class, because we all know that one chance really isn't enough to take full advantage of bacon baked goods.

Also on June 2nd, Camp Bacon hits the road with Zingerman's Food Tours to check out the markets, kitchens, and breweries of Detroit. The adventure starts at Eastern Market, where Detroit's street art and urban farm-to-table movements collide.

Then the group heads over to the streets of Detroit to explore, learn some history, and visit Wright & Co., where chef Marc Djozlija will demonstrate a surprise pork-themed small plate recipe and cocktail combination.

After this snack break, the food tour takes campers to Corktown, described by Camp Bacon as the "vibrant urban center of breweries, distilleries and food experiences." The final stop of the day is (revolver), one of Detroit's hottest pop-up restaurants featuring an "ode to all things bacon" menu created by chefs Peter Dalinowsky and Sarah Welch.

The main event

June 3rd features an all-day event, beginning bright and early at 8:00 AM and continuing until 4:00 PM. Located at Zingerman’s Cornman Farms, the schedule features two meals, 13 speakers, and never-ending bacon.

The presentations go on all day, with titles of the talks ranging from Crimes Committed with Bacon to Failure, Cuba, and Salami: A Journey in Meaty Entrepreneurship, and even How A Vegan Jewish Boy Ended Up Making Marvelous Country Ham.

I promise, I'm not making any of this up. This is happening.

Don't forget the grand finale

Camp comes to an end with the one and only bacon street fair—picture three hours of bacon-themed snacks, paraphernalia, and games. There are many vendors, and even more bacon lovers, so it's the perfect culmination of a week of pork appreciation.

If you're starting to get worked up that you can't make it to Michigan in time for this one-of-a-kind bacon immersion program, you can always settle for mere Camp Bacon merchandise to feel like you were in on the fun (and hey, there's always next year).