The annual Pigtown Festival took place Saturday afternoon with everyone’s favorite pig-running spectacle, Squeakness. Pigtown’s name dates to the late 1800s, when pigs were herded through the streets on the way to the slaughterhouse. These days it’s a little different, with the pigs racing for fun and being cheered on for their cuteness — not their contribution to breakfast.

(Craig Hudson/For the Baltimore Banner)
Festival attendees cheer and snap photos as a group of pigs race during the Pigtown Festival in Baltimore, MD on September 30, 2023
Festival attendees cheer and snap photos as a group of pigs races. (Craig Hudson/For the Baltimore Banner)
Announcer David Feimster releases a group of pigs to race. (Craig Hudson/For the Baltimore Banner)
A child wears a pig snout while waiting for the next race. (Craig Hudson/For the Baltimore Banner)
Attendees wait for the next pig race. (Craig Hudson/For the Baltimore Banner)
A clock shows the time of the next race. (Craig Hudson/For the Baltimore Banner)
A group of pigs race during the Pigtown Festival in Baltimore, MD on September 30, 2023.
A group of pigs during their race. (Craig Hudson/For the Baltimore Banner)
A child wears a pig snout while waiting for a race. (Craig Hudson/For the Baltimore Banner)
Luna Coates, 5, runs through bubbles made by Bubbleverse’s Lindsey Noel during the Pigtown Festival in Baltimore, MD on September 30, 2023. (
Luna Coates, 5, runs through bubbles made by Bubbleverse’s Lindsey Noel. (Craig Hudson/For the Baltimore Banner)
Festival attendees look on as contestants compete in a pie-eating contest. (Craig Hudson/For the Baltimore Banner)
Steph Compton celebrates winning a pie eating contest during the Pigtown Festival in Baltimore, MD on September 30, 2023.
Steph Compton celebrates winning the pie-eating contest. (Craig Hudson/For the Baltimore Banner)