Those of you unfamiliar with the history of Cincinnati will no doubt wonder why our logo is a flying pig, and why we are called the Queen City Feis. Well, here are some fun Cincinnati facts and links for you.

Flying Pigs

In the 1830’s, Cincinnati was the nation’s leading pork-packing center, and by the 1840’s was the world leader, with a quarter of a million hogs a year being slaughtered and processed here. Thus, the nick-name “Porkopolis” was often used to refer to the city.

In 1988, the city celebrated its 200th Birthday, and developed Bicentennial Commons at Sawyer Point to commemorate the event. This is a beautiful park, located downtown along the Ohio River. Flanking the entrance to the park is a set of steamboat stacks at the top of which are four flying pigs. There was much hoopla and controversy over the flying pigs, which were finally adopted, and became a part of our scenic riverfront.

Surprisingly, the people of Cincinnati began to develop a real liking for the pigs. They began to incorporate them in many public events throughout the city. We now have the annual Flying Pig Marathon, and in 2000 we had the Big Pig Gig. This public art event really took off, when over 390 full-sized plaster pigs were painted, dressed, accessorized and placed throughout the Cincinnati area. The pigs were later auctioned off, with many finding permanent homes in public places. Visit Cincinnati.com's Big Pig Gig archive to view photos of the pigs and other fun facts. Information on the Flying Pig Marathon (May 2, 2004) can be viewed at http://www.flyingpigmarathon.com/. A humorous article from 1999 covering the marathon and the flying pig controversy can be found at http://www.enquirer.com/editions/1999/05/07/spt_the_story_behind.html

Queen City

Our logo pig is adorned with a crown to symbolize her “Queenly” status. Cincinnati became known as the “Queen City of the West” in the 1820’s as an expression of the citizens’ pride. On May 4, 1819, B. Cooke wrote in the Inquisitor and Cincinnati Advertiser, “The City is, indeed, just styled the fair Queen of the West: distinguished for order, enterprise, public spirit, and liberality, she stands the wonder of an admiring world.”

In 1854, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote his poem Catawba Wine, to memorialize the city’s vineyards, especially those of Nicholas Longworth. The last stanza of the poem reads:

“And this Song of the Vine,
This greeting of mine,
The winds and the birds shall deliver,
To the Queen of the West,
In her garlands dressed,
On the banks of the Beautiful River.

Now you know about our logo, and a bit about Cincinnati history. Hopefully you will come to think as fondly of our flying pigs as we do, and bring many medals home to share with friends and family. Many thanks to Pittsburgh area artist John Naskey of Listowell Celtic Art who designed our logo.