Tammy Raycraft, Bruce Peninsula Press
Tobermory’s Pig Roast at the Park brought together several hundred community members for an evening of food, live music and fall festivities, while raising $7,600 for The Meeting Place, Tobermory.
Funds raised after expenses will go toward programs and services offered by The Meeting Place during the 2026-27 year.
Organized jointly by And-Rod Construction and The Meeting Place, the annual event has grown from a staff celebration hosted by And-Rod into a community-wide fall gathering.
This year marked the 11th annual Pig Roast, with the third year that And-Rod and The Meeting Place have partnered to host the event at Tobermory Community Park.
Noreen Steinacher of The Meeting Place said attendance was estimated at between 300 and 400 people. “It’s starting to become a Tobermory event for the fall,” Steinacher said.
The event was held by donation rather than through a set ticket price, allowing community members to contribute what they can. The family-oriented event also offered plenty of space for children to enjoy the park.
The evening featured an all-local music lineup, beginning with DJ Maxx Lough and continuing with performances by John Lacroix, John Newitt, Kurtis Oblak with Nolan Davis and Nick Ferrence, Highway 6 Revisited with Brad Gibbs, Danielle Vaccari, Nolan Davis, Madyo and Nick Ferrence, and Tub Ratz with Liam Adams.
Lough also provided lighting for the event, including a laser-light display.
Food was another major part of the evening, with the pig roast taking place throughout the day in preparation for the event.
This year also featured a friendly cook-off between And-Rod’s Jose Andino-Rodriguez and the Pipes Crew. The two prepared roasted pigs, which were later judged as part of the evening’s festivities. Congratulations to the Pipes Crew, who took home the win in this year’s Pig Roast competition!
38 door prizes were donated by local businesses and organizations. Everyone attending received a numbered ticket for a chance to win.
Steinacher credited Cheri Janknegt of By the Bay Landscaping for helping gather the door prizes and decorating the event space with pumpkins, mums, cornstalks and hay bales, creating a fall atmosphere throughout the park and pavilion.
Local businesses also contributed food and other donations, while volunteers helped organize the music, sound, parking, setup and cleanup.
Although the event takes place on Saturday, preparations began Friday with volunteers setting up the site. The pig roasting and final preparations continued throughout Saturday, followed by cleanup on Sunday. “It’s actually a three-day event,” Steinacher said.
The partnership between And-Rod and The Meeting Place has its roots in the original Pig Roast, which began as an end-of-year celebration for And-Rod staff at the company’s property.
As word spread, friends and community members began attending. And-Rod eventually approached The Meeting Place about moving the event to the community park and working together to accommodate a larger crowd.
And-Rod had donated proceeds from the earlier events to The Meeting Place, and the partnership has continued that tradition.
For The Meeting Place, the $7,600 raised provides flexible funding that can be directed toward areas of greatest need throughout the year.
The Meeting Place operates year-round as a community hub, offering programs and services in areas including social support, food security, children and youth programs, recreation and music, and community development. The organization is also involved in community issues, including ongoing work surrounding affordable housing.
Steinacher said the organization does not receive core funding from the provincial or federal governments and relies on community donations, fundraising and grants to support its operations. The unrestricted funds from events such as the Pig Roast allow The Meeting Place to decide where and when the money is needed.
“We appreciate having funds where we have the flexibility to put money where it’s needed,” Steinacher said.
But Steinacher said the value of the Pig Roast goes beyond the money raised.
The event provides an opportunity for people from different parts of the community to come together in a setting with few barriers to participation.
“There are very few barriers,” she said. “The atmosphere and feedback was really positive. Friends were there; new people were there. Really good cross section of community.”
For And-Rod and The Meeting Place, that community aspect has become an important part of what the Pig Roast represents.
And with the event now in its 11th year, Steinacher said the Pig Roast appears to have established itself as part of Tobermory’s fall calendar.
