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JUNEAU — If pigs could fly, the Legislature probably would have fixed the budget by now.
They haven't yet. But a pig nonetheless flew into Juneau last week.
The 150-pound porcine package arrived Wednesday on the evening Alaska Airlines flight, then caught a ride to the official residence of Gov. Bill Walker. By 1 a.m., it was cooking in an 8-foot-long smoker in the driveway, flavoring the night air for passers-by.
The occasion: Thursday night's Alaska-grown dinner, which featured pulled pork from the Fairbanks pig on rolls made with grain from Palmer and Delta, served alongside roasted root vegetables from the Valley and beer from Juneau's own Alaskan Brewing Co.
It was the second straight year Walker has hosted the meal and participants were glowing about the spotlight cast on Alaska-grown products and the state's $60 million agriculture industry.
"The best opportunity the state has is agriculture," said Bernie Karl, owner of Chena Hot Springs outside Fairbanks.
Karl uses geothermal heat from the springs to grow tomatoes and lettuce through subzero Interior winters. He flew to the capital city in a twin-engine Piper Navajo loaded with more than 100 pounds of cabbage, parsnips, potatoes and carrots that had arrived in Fairbanks in a pickup from the Mat-Su.
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With the exception of some locally made ice cream, all the food was donated — though Walker's office also paid Marc Ormsby, who runs a Juneau barbecue joint, to run the smoker.
Karl and his passengers met the pig at the Juneau airport. It flew on a commercial flight with Fritz Wozniak, who runs a slaughterhouse, Mid-State Meats, in North Pole, just outside Fairbanks.
Last year, Wozniak brought a dozen cuts of prime rib and the leftovers fed the first family into the spring.
"Don't tell my kids," said Donna Walker, the governor's wife. "But I actually used one of them for Easter."
By 6 p.m. Thursday, the pig was out of the smoker and carved up for dinner. The bronzed head — ears still attached and an apple propped in its open mouth — was displayed on the serving table.
The governor, Wozniak cracked, "will be eating pig for a while now too."
Karl disagreed.
"I don't think there'll be anything left but bones," he said.