Whole Hog Festival

Organizers have been working for months, and now everything is ready for the annual John Maher Builders Whole Hog Festival. Mark your calendars for Saturday, October 11th. 

Held on the grounds of the historic Oak Lawn Mansion, the family-friendly event has become an annual tradition for many. The day-long festival offers something for everyone, and it’s all for a good cause. Profits support The Well Outreach, which operates food pantries in Spring Hill and Mount Pleasant to help families in need. 

Last year, more than seven thousand people turned out to enjoy a variety of activities, including pork-themed food and contests, a craft fair, a kids’ zone with lots of fun things to do, and live bands performing throughout the day. This year’s musical line-up will include bluegrass, country, Contemporary Christian, and rock and roll, with a special guest to wrap things up. 

“The Well is excited to announce that on the 20th anniversary of our festival, our headline act will be Larry Gatlin of the Gatlin Brothers Band," says Shelly Sasson, Chief Executive Officer for The Well Outreach. "We're super excited to have this legacy artist who is a Grammy Award winner, a member of the Grand Ole Opry, and a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame, be part of our event.”

The festival, centered around all things pork-related, is chock full of contests, events, and lots of food.

“We’ll be having our Hog Calling Contest as we do every year, and the Bacon Eating Contest will be bigger with more participants,” Sassen says. “We’ve also widened our pork-themed food offerings with some new food trucks. This year we’ll have somebody making pork chops, along with all of the other things.”

Of course, you can’t have a whole hog festival without a whole hog.

“Martin’s Bar-B-Que is providing a whole hog, and they’ll be offering barbecue pork sandwiches in front of their whole hog,” she adds.

Sassen’s husband, Tim, is Director of Communications for the festival, but also fills another important role or two.

“I’m blessed to be the emcee from the stage,” he explains. “I’m also the one who’s been asked to wear a bacon costume for the entirety of the day.” He pauses, then adds with a laugh, “So, my official title is ‘the guy wearing the bacon suit.’”

As emcee, he keeps the many different events on schedule and sets the tone for the day.

“I always say this is the greatest place you can possibly be in Middle Tennessee on a beautiful Saturday in October. You’re outdoors, Oak Lawn Mansion is a beautiful setting, you have food, musical talent, and so much more. It’s the perfect event for families across three or four generations to come and have a good time.”

The festival serves as a fundraiser for The Well Outreach, enabling it to help feed struggling families throughout Maury County. Sassen says the need has grown even greater this year. They're serving more families than ever before with fewer resources.

“We’ve seen unprecedented growth in ways we never thought we would. We’ve seen an increase in need because of grocery costs being so high and getting higher. Then housing, some unemployment, and just a lot of crises families are going through. And it’s being compounded by the cuts we’re seeing from the federal level. The USDA support we used to get and some of the food support has been cut.”

Sassen says the best way people can help is through The Well’s Good Neighbor Program. A donation of $30 a month helps feed a family of four. For more information visit https://thewelloutreach.org/

They can also attend this year's Whole Hog Festival, which promises a good time for all.

Admission is free to children five and under, $5.00 for students six to eighteen, and $10.00 for adults. The festival kicks off at 10 am and goes until 5 pm.