I don’t know what comes to your mind when you think of the month of June. Maybe it’s a Father’s Day celebration, a getaway to the beach or other summer activities. But when I think of June and Gospel music, only one story comes to mind. And that would be the year that the Lighthouse Messenger’s annual homecoming event in Harrison, Arkansas found itself with the new nickname of “Bacon Park.”
…and folks, I still have the tee shirt!
Beacon Park is a three night outdoor Gospel singing in June, complete with camper parking, concession stand and enough lawn chairs to put hundreds of people in front of the stage. Every year, chalk lines mark the grass, keeping lawn chairs in proper bounds so there is a definitive center aisle for everyone’s convenience. There is also a gate, a rather small gate I would say, where you might give a donation before entering the grounds from the parking lot at the start of the evening.
So, you could imagine everyone’s surprise, when the McKamey’s are singing on stage and the largest hog you have ever seen comes trotting down that center aisle as if it’s going down to the altar!
Yes, you read that right. I guess a hog from Harrison, Arkansas wanted to hear some Gospel music that night! (We found out later that there was a hog farm across the road and they had a few escapes.) How this glorious form of walking bacon made it across a four lane highway, through the gate and down the center aisle before anyone really, really noticed him is still a mystery. But that, my friends, is how Beacon Park picked up the nickname “Bacon Park” on balmy June evening, only a few short years ago…
