Pigs will be guests, not food, at an upcoming picnic in New Kensington.
The first-time Summer Pig-nic will benefit a rescue for miniature pigs in Frazer. The vegan affair at the Voodoo Brewing New Kensington Pub will feature food from Veggies N’At and Sweet Alchemy, a vegan bake shop.
Tickets are available online, and the last day to get them is Monday. Each $35 ticket includes a serving of vegan picnic food, a dessert, one “Piggy Punch” and a donation to the nonprofit Pittsburgh Squealers Rescue. Additional beverages will be available for sale.
Blue Martin, an engineer at a medical device company, and her husband, Zack Robinson, an electrical technician at an autonomous car company, started Pittsburgh Squealers Rescue in 2016 and established it in Frazer in 2019. They have found homes for more than 220 pigs.
The couple, who met in 2014, got married at the rescue in 2020.
Martin, who got her first pig in 2013, said they are incredibly excited about the fundraiser and plan to be there with a few of their resident pigs.
“Our normal fundraising is we ask for donations on social media,” she said. “Having Voodoo and Sweet Alchemy offer to do this for us is incredibly kind of them. We get to see a new crowd.”
While miniature or “tea cup” pigs are popular, Martin said unscrupulous breeders sell them based on lies about their age, size and how big they’ll get. Mini pigs grow until they are 3 to 5 years old and can weigh 80 to 150 pounds.
As a result, many are given up or abandoned. And because they are pigs, they can face a fate not shared with cats and dogs: being eaten.
“There are so many pigs that need homes,” Martin said. “Our mission is to take in any pig from the region that does not have a safe home.”
In January, the rescue took in 32 pigs from a neglect seizure in West Virginia. One had six piglets shortly after arriving at the rescue, for a total of 38.
Sweet Alchemy owner Jamie Parker has been fostering one of those pigs, named Betty (after Betty White), since February and is considering adopting her.
Parker said she became familiar with Pittsburgh Squealers when Martin and Robinson attended a “Vegan & Vinyl” event she sponsored in October with New Kensington record shop Preserving.
“Rescues right now are struggling financially. They’re finding it hard to take animals in while paying the bills,” Parker said. “We tend to do things differently here. We want to do things that are creative and fun.”
Parker said the picnic is ticketed to ensure they will have enough food. More than 100 tickets have been sold.
There also will be a DJ playing music, lawn games and Pittsburgh Squealers merchandise for sale. For the pigs, there will be a pool and special “pig popsicles” to help the pigs keep cool.
Those attending will be encouraged to spend the day, get to know more about the rescue and what they do, and get an idea what having a pet pig is like, Parker said.
“This is a great way to have some education provided with some good food and drinks,” she said.
No tickets will be sold the day of the picnic, but Parker said those without tickets can still come to support the rescue by meeting the pigs, buying merchandise and patronizing Voodoo.
“We know pigs speak to people,” she said.
