The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences will present the Iowa Select Farms and ELANCO ISU Bacon Expo for the first time this fall.

The decision to create the event was announced in the spring, but since then, few details have been released. The organization has now announced the event will be in and around the Scheman Building on Oct. 19.

Tickets will go on sale on Sept. 6 at 8 a.m. through Ticketmaster, but they can also be purchased at the Stephen’s Auditorium ticket office. Only 1,200 tickets will be sold, and they are available to the general public in addition to Iowa State students.

“We anticipate they will go quickly,” said Jake Swanson, president of the College of Agriculture’s Student Council and chief bacon officer of the Bacon Expo.

Admission to the event will cost $8, but event goers will have the option of purchasing a $10 punch card to try all of the samples at the event. Attendees can then have the option of sharing a punch card, depending on how much they would like to spend.

“We just wanted to make it more affordable to students in that way,” said Hannah Christensen, one of the two general co-chairs of the event.

The Bacon Expo organization spent the summer fundraising, Swanson said. 

The two main sponsors of the event are Iowa Select Farms and ELANCO, which were finalized this summer. Those two are in addition to support from the College of Agriculture.

“We’ve got a pretty sizeable budget that really just allows us to really support all of the creativity that’s gone into this event,” Swanson said. The budget, he added, is still being developed.

The Bacon Expo is still accepting vendors and working out details about the different bacon-related foods that will be available. ISU clubs and organizations will also be present on the day of the expo.

Some of the highlights of the Bacon Expo include a bacon-eating contest and guest speakers, such as Wendy Wintersteen, dean of the College of Agriculture.

Planning has been done by a group of approximately 70 students, with Swanson acting as leadership in addition to the two general co-chairs. The students are further divided into more specific planning committees.

“It’s been cool to see it start as [an] idea, and now it’s in the works and it’s going to happen in a few months,” Christensen said.

The mission of the Bacon Expo is to showcase several of Iowa State’s departments in an educational and entertaining manner, Swanson said.

“Iowa State really is the perfect fit to have an event of this type,” Swanson said. “We’re really confident that this event will be really a lot of fun for all of the bacon enthusiasts that come.”

Several details still need to be finalized, including setup at Scheman and finalizing vendors.

“I feel really good about where it’s at. I think we’re right on track, especially with it being a first year event, so I think we’re doing good,” Christensen said.

The event will run from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. that Saturday.