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A pork roll, egg and cheese with potato sandwich in a file photo.

(file photo)

TRENTON — Thousands of people are expected to come out to celebrate and feast on the famous Trenton treat at the inaugural Trenton Pork Roll Festival.

The celebration honoring Trenton’s pork roll heritage will run from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday at the Trenton Social bar and restaurant at 449 South Broad St.

The Trenton Thunder debuted their new food item, the Thunderdog, a jumbo hotdog, pork roll and cheese on a roll, this year.

T.C. Nelson, the owner of Trenton Social, said his staff, are working on a special menu full of the meat, but there will also be several food truck vendors serving up pork roll in unique ways throughout the day.

“We are striking up a lot of pork roll,” Nelson said.

The event will also include music from several live bands including a blues band aptly called the Trenton Pork Roll Blues Project.

At the event there will be a Miss Trenton Pork Roll Queen contest, where one person will be crowned Miss Trenton Pork Roll, complete with a sash and tiara. There will also be awards given to those who have submitted the best pork roll recipes.

The county managed parking lot across from the Sun National Bank Center will be open to event-goers to park and Trenton Police will be on site to ensure safety, Nelson said.

Trenton is home to both Case Pork Roll, on Washington Street, and Taylor Provisions, on Perrine Avenue.

John Taylor, a Hamilton native, is said to have invented pork roll in 1856, though it is not certain how the now-ubiquitous sandwich and breakfast food got its start. George Washington Case of Belle Mead came up with his own recipe in 1870 and that eventually became the Case Pork Roll Co.

Nelson said he got involved with planning the Pork Roll Festival about six months ago after organizer Scott Miller posted on Facebook about his idea for the event in Trenton after seeing information about a pork roll festival in South Jersey.

“We are working on these traffic and micro-tourism kind of events that bring in vendors, people, energy, money into the city that help rebrand the experience in the capital city,” Nelson said.

Trenton Social will also be hosting a food truck festival in September, Nelson said.

Contact Jenna Pizzi at jpizzi@njtimes.com or (609) 989-5717.

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