2024 Iowa Pork Queen Lillian Bru, back left, pictured last summer at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines while assisting with the Bacon Buddies program. Bru, a native of Gladbrook, is bringing the Bacon Buddies Show to the Tama County Fair on Friday, July 18. PHOTO COURTESY OF LILLIAN BRU

GLADBROOK – There’s a new experience coming to several county fairs in Iowa this summer, one that seeks to make the fair experience more inclusive.

“This year at the Tama County Fair, I’m putting on a Bacon Buddies Show!” GMG Class of 2024 alumna and 2025 Iowa Pork Collegiate Team member Lillian ‘Lilly’ Bru recently told the newspaper. “This is a program that gives special needs individuals the opportunity to show a pig at the county fair.”

Bru first became involved with the Bacon Buddies program last summer during her reign as the 2024 Iowa Pork Queen. While queen, she attended roughly a dozen county-level shows in addition to the Iowa State Fair show. The experience stuck with her, and so when given the chance to bring the state show to the county level, she didn’t hesitate.

“By attending and helping with these events, I got to see swine exhibitors’ eyes opened by including those around them,” Bru explained. “Special needs children [are often] elated by the opportunity to handle a real, live farm animal. I want to bring this feeling anywhere and everywhere that I can, starting with Tama County.”

According to the Iowa Pork Producers Association, Bacon Buddies, now in its sixth year at the Iowa State Fair, “gives individuals who have intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (Buddies) the opportunity to take a pig into the show ring. Their mentors include 4-H and FFA youth who have volunteered to share that show ring experience right along with them.”

Bru said in addition to Tama County, the show is part of several other county fairs across the state, including nearby Benton.

There is no limit to the number of participants, she added, telling the newspaper, “For as many or as few special needs individuals who show interest in showing a pig, we will have a place for them in our Tama County Bacon Buddies Show.”

Tama County’s show will begin promptly after the Tama County Swine Show which begins at 8 a.m. on Friday, July 18, at the Tama County Fairgrounds in Gladbrook. As part of the Bacon Buddies program, swine exhibitors will be paired up with a buddy to teach them how to care for and show a pig.

“The Bacon Buddies Show is an important addition to the Tama County Fair,” Bru said, “as it highlights our inclusivity of people of every physical and mental capability. We at the Tama County Fair want to welcome all people to come and enjoy our activities and agriculture.”

Special needs individuals interested in participating must be aged five and up. For more information, including how to register an individual for the show, contact Bru at 641-485-3781 or lillianbru11@gmail.com.

“The more Bacon Buddies that we have, the better [the show will be].”