Berry Farms Local

Whole Hog Festival Coming In October

Spring Hill’s largest event boosts music, food and fun!

By Pam Windsor

It’s all coming together for Spring Hill’s biggest event of the year – the 2021 Whole Hog Festival.

Set for Saturday, October 2nd, on the grounds of the historic Oak Lawn Mansion, the festival will offer something for everyone. More than 5000 people are expected to attend the big event, which will, of course, keep all things pig-related front and center.

“We’ll have 13 different food trucks from Nashville and surrounding areas, and those trucks will represent all different aspects of the hog,” explains Shelly Sassen, Executive Director for The Well Outreach. 

Those food trucks will have pork chops, pulled pork, ribs, bacon, and more. One bacon vendor will offer more than a dozen different types of flavored bacon. And to make sure the festival lives up to its name - Martin’s Bar-B-Que Joint has donated a whole hog that will be used to create mini-pork sliders.

“We’ll also have bacon dress-up characters and a whole hog calling contest,” Sassen adds.

In addition, the family-fun event will have live music, crafts, kids’ activities, a petting zoo, and much more.

Formerly known as the Country Ham Festival, it began as an annual event in 2005 then took a break in 2018. But John Maher Builders brought it back in 2019 with a new name and a partnership with The Well Outreach, a local food pantry that serves the needs of families in crisis.

“John Maher approached us and asked if we would consider producing the Country Ham Festival,” explains Sassen. “At that time, The Well grouped together to figure out what that would look like and came up with the concept of making it bigger and better, and rebranding it from the Country Ham Festival to the Whole Hog Festival.”

It expanded to add more events, and with regard to food, shifting from focusing on just country ham to all aspects of the hog.

The festival serves as one of The Well’s two major fundraisers every year.

While food is a main attraction, another big draw is lots of live music covering several different music genres. Acts performing on the main stage throughout the day this year will include country artist William Michael Morgan, the King Cotton Bluegrass Band, 80s party band Goldie and The Mayors, just to name a few. The line-up also features an identical triplet sister group, Taylor Red. They got a lot of attention earlier this year when their video for a song called “Country Music” went viral on TikTok. 

There will be many unique attractions like a martial arts exhibition by Red Tiger Martial Arts Studio, professional balloon artists, face painting, and a mini-volleyball court.

“We’ll have a huge kids’ zone area with more than 30 booths represented by local churches and businesses with a real focus on family-friendly interactive activities,” Sassen says. “There will also be a Superhero booth with live-action figures like Spiderman. 

Other events include a regional craft fair with more than 40 local and regional artisans and a good old-fashioned cakewalk. This year’s Whole Hog Festival promises to be bigger than ever, thanks to the generous support of so many local businesses.

Tickets are $5, with kids under the age of 5 getting admitted for free. Every ticket comes with a free car wash compliments of Washtopia, and a free pig mask.

When it comes to masks, they are welcome at the Whole Hog Festival but not mandated. 

The all-day event starts at 10:00 am and ends by 6 pm (possibly 7 pm depending on musical acts). It promises to be a day full of good food and fun with the added benefit of giving something back to the community with proceeds going to support The Well Outreach. 

For more information, visit https://www.springhillwell.org and go to News & Events. Click on John Maher Whole Hog Festival 2021.