Get ready for bacon maple ice cream.
It that’s not enough for your bacon sweet tooth, how about bacon maple chocolate chip cookies, bacon maple cinnamon rolls or a wide variety of desserts that incorporate bacon?
You can savor the taste of bacon and more during this weekend’s second annual Baconfest — a celebration of bacon, beer, and bands — taking place Saturday and Sunday (Sept. 8-9) from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. both days at Dell’Osso Family Farms in Lathrop.
 “We’re definitely having the favorite from last year back — deep friend bacon (on a stick),” noted Susan Dell’Osso.
Bacon is dipped in corn dog batter, fried, and topped off with a syrup drizzle.
Other favorites from last year are back including bacon bouquets featuring five different flavors of smoked bacon to bacon pasta, bacon popcorn, sweet potato and bacon waffle fries, bacon grilled cheese sandwiches to bacon Bloody Marys and more.
Joining Bacon Alley this year is bourbon bacon. It is bacon dipped in bourbon, coated with cayenne pepper and brown sugar then served in a shot glass.
The event that celebrates everything bacon exclusively features Sunnyvalley Meats bacon from Manteca. Dozens of grillers will be fired up to keep the food moving at the bacon bar.

Food Network star
Jeff Mauro appearing
An accident and emergency surgery on Tuesday in Switzerland is preventing Adam Richman of The travel Channel’s  “Man vs. Food” from flying back to the States to emcee amateur and professional bacon cooking contests both days featuring “mystery basket style” ingredients.
In his place will be Jeff Mauro of  Food Network fame who hosts the “Sandwich King” among other shows.
Baconfest will have dozens of Bacon Alley Food Vendors selling various food items centered on bacon as well as 20 microbreweries. Entertainment takes place on two stages on both days featuring live bands and several other performance acts.
The two-day event will also have more than 100 vendors, a Bloody Mary booth, and wine.
The popular Pumpkin Blasters will be up and running as well Free kids’ activities and rides like the Dell’Osso Express Train, Kids’ Ferris Wheel and Roller Coaster, Spinning Pumpkin and Bounce Pillows, the Pedal Car Speedway and two children’s play areas are all included.

World champion
eater at Baconfest
Joey Chestnut — a San Jose man who makes a pig of himself for a living — is competing in the World Bacon Easting Championship taking place during the Baconfest.
Chestnut, 33, is the reigning world champion competitive eater on the sanctioned Major League Eating circuit. He a 10-time champion of the world’s premiere competitive eating contest — the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest at New York’s Coney Island. He successfully defended his title this year by consuming as record 72 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes.
Chestnut owns 10 world record eating titles. Among them are:
uDeep fried asparagus. The mark of 12.8 pounds of deep fried asparagus was set at the May 2014 Stockton Asparagus Festival.
uPork rolls sandwiches. He consumed a record 32 quarter-pound pork roll sandwiches at Case’s Pork Roll Eating Championship in Trenton, New Jersey, in 10 minutes in September of 2015.
uHard-boiled eggs. Chestnut in eight minutes ate 114 hard-boiled eggs in October of 2013 at the Radcliff Fall Festival in Kentucky.
Parking is free as are kids’ activities such as the Dell’Osso Express Train, kiddie roller coaster, spinning pumpkin and mini Ferris wheel rides, bounce pillows, pedal car speedway and other attractions
Tickets are $25 for adults (15 and older) $12.50 for children.
Last year’s event drew 30,000 people.
Event information and tickets are available online at www.baconfest.com