- Title
- Our State
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-
- Date
- June 2009
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-
- Place
- ["North Carolina, United States"]
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Our State
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tar heel towns
Lexington
The'Barbecue Capital of the World' delights visitors with artful pigs, well-regarded wine, and,
of course, plenty of chopped-plate barbecue renditions worth a taste-test.
By Bill Cissna
PHOTOGRAPHY BY TRIPP HARRINGTON • ILLUSTRATION BY STEVEN NOBLE
One of the first things you notice when
driving around downtown Lexington is
the pigs.
In front of several businesses, inside the window
at the Visitor Center, and even outside the landmark
IS5K Old Davidson County Courthouse facing the
memorial-strewn town square, large fiberglass pieces
of porcine public art decorate the sidewalks with often
elaborately-painted scenes or information relative to
the nearby business.
If you know I-cxington at all, you're probably aware
of its position in the universe of barbecue, especially
pork shoulder barbecue. Although savory chopped
and sliced are far from the only attraction in this town
of 20,000, it's no mistake that its area visitor map
proclaims Lexington "The Barbecue Capital of
the World."
That, naturally, explains why 20 or more pigs can
be found seated around the central core of downtown
each mid-May through mid-October since the "Pigs
in the City" art program started in 2005, and others
remain year-round. Many townspeople and visitors
alike are rediscovering a lively uptown on “Kg Walks,”
carrying their "I lootin' Maps” and taking advantage of
retail coupons in the "Piggy Passport.”
Uptown draw
Despite the challenges caused by the gradual fading of
the textile and furniture industries, which had been at
Lexington's core lor a century, the surprisingly vibrant
uptown - as reflected liy the popularity of the pigs
offers a snapshot of the community’s willingness over
the years to pull together and weather taxing times.
“It really says something about this town that,
though there have been many job losses in our leading
industries, people still come uptown and stroll and
support what arc mostly locally owned and operated
businesses,” says Jeanne Leonard, proprietor of The
Candy Factory. She cites especially summertime Friday
nights when the pigs are on display and businesses stay
