With the sweet smell of tangy barbecue and one of the biggest crowds yet in attendance on Sunday, the ninth annual PigFest was a success in more ways than one.

“This was by far the best year in terms of donations,” said chef Scott Fraser, who founded the event and is also the owner of Frasers Gourmet Hideaway.

“There were definitely some incredibly generous people with us on Sunday.”

According to Fraser, the community event attracted 12,000 attendees and raised roughly $24,000 for local charities, including North Whidbey Help House, Citizens Against Domestic Abuse and others.

The event, started as a small block party and backyard barbecue competition in 2008, was made possible by numerous sponsors, local businesses and more than 200 volunteers, according to Cathy George.

“This is totally a volunteer driven event, and without them there would not be a PigFest. I am really proud of the people willing to help.”

Volunteers helped move equipment, set up and teardown the event, prepare food and more.

With the event continually expanding, so has the support.

“The number of volunteers is growing every year, and we need more as the event keeps getting bigger too,” George said.

The event also saw more participants in the barbecue competition sanctioned by Pacific Northwest Barbecue Association.

With an extensive ranking system, $7,000 in cash prizes and a chance to qualify for the Jack Daniels World Championship Invitational Barbecue, the competition drew competitions from all over the area.

Twenty-five teams from Canada, Washington, Oregon and elsewhere convened along Pioneer Way and were judged in four categories — pork, brisket, chicken and ribs.

Bad Bones BBQ from Happy Valley, Ore., came out with the highest combined score and took home the grand championship along with several other ribbons.

Bad Bones BBQ also qualified for the Jack Daniels Invitational alongside PitBull BBQ, Wine Country Q and Diane Mee from Lake House BBQ. Maddog’s BBQ also qualified for the Sam’s Club $500,000 National Barbecue Tour.

“We love to cook, we love to compete and we love the barbecue family; it’s a great community,” Brian Gurney of Bad Bones BBQ said. “We felt it was a really fun event, really organized and we will definitely be back. Everybody was super nice.”

While it was their first time attending Oak Harbor PigFest, Gurney and his wife Shelly have competed in barbecue competitions for five years. It will be their second time attending the Jack Daniels Invitational.

PigFest also featured a free barbecue lunch that included 3,200 pounds of pork prepared and served by volunteers.

About 7,000 attendees went through the food line according to Fraser.

The Whidbey community  and attendees were also asked to name a giant, pink inflatable pig that was the first thing to greet passersby.

Fraser said the ballots are still being processed, and a name will be announced soon.

In all, Fraser said he is proud to be able to give back to  community and is excited to see the event continue to grow.

“It was something many years ago that I wanted to do to say thank you the community,” said Fraser.

“It started as a little block party and it’s grown so much since then.”