The Event: Country Ham Festival The Spring Hill Country Ham Festival By Ashley Bone Four years ago, Spring Hill took off. The population was beginning to boom, developments were springing up left and right, and new businesses were locating in and near the town center. For the DeBerrys, it was just the right time to have a festival. Eric and Chris DeBerry, a husband-and-wife team in love with Spring Hill, say they wanted to start something that would bring the burgeoning community together. “It actually started when Eric sat on the board of the Chamber of Commerce, and he and a few others on the board thought it might be a good idea to host a community event,” Chris explains. “They put their heads together and came up with The Spring Hill Country Ham Festival. Although some of the original planners dropped off the committee, by the second year we had established a new committee, and the growth of the event lead us to form a 501(c)(3) last year.” Now the festival has grown and become one of the most popular fall events in the area. “This is my life right now,” she says. “The first year we had 1,500 people, and more than 10,000 people attended last year.” Last year Wilbur the pig was in attendance. (For those who don’t know Wilbur, he’s the squealer from Murfreesboro who became famous after his picture was used on the new cover of E.B. White’s classic book, Charlotte’s Web.) This year, Carol Fay, Loveless Café’s famous “Biscuit Lady,” will be on-site making the café’s famous biscuits. Loveless is sponsoring a biscuit eating contest, and Fay will be cooking and autographing her cookbooks. Of course, when it comes to food there will be quite a selection at this year’s festival. In addition to ham sandwiches and ham biscuits, there will be BBQ, catfish, fried chicken, bloomin’ onion, Italian sausage, homemade bake goodies, funnel cakes and more. And there will be great music to put visitors in a country ham mood. Live country, bluegrass and southern rock music will stream through the venue. As Eric explains, this is a family friendly, community event designed for people of all ages. “We want neighbors to come out and meet neighbors,” he says. “We want them to have good, clean fun in their hometown. At the same time, it raises money for a good cause.” The festival’s popularity and growth has enabled organizers to qualify as a nonprofit organization, the Spring Hill Country Ham Festival Foundation. Proceeds from this year’s festival benefit local Boy Scout Troops No. 23 and No. 286, and the Tennessee Children’s Home, which is hosting this year’s festival. Janice Maples, festival organizer and volunteer, has been a part of the festival since its inception. She says the jump in attendance can be traced to a few things. “The festival attendance has doubled and tripled every year,” she says. “It’s local, affordable and additional events are added each year. This year the festival will close with a firework finale, the first ever for the festival and the first professional firework display in Spring Hill. And the Kids Zone is free.” The Kids Zone activities at this year’s festival include a petting zoo, pony rides, inflatables, face painting and “Farmer for a Day” (where kids learn to milk a cow, dig potatoes, gather eggs, pick a pumpkin from the pumpkin patch). For those worried that they might miss a key college football game, the DeBerrys have them covered. In fact, a Pig Pen with a large-screen television, sponsored by Charter Communications, will be set up and showing the Tennessee – Georgia game. Eric says that although planning and organizing the festival has been a long, hard road, the work pays off. “We’re excited at the response of people in the community,” he says. “The city of Spring Hill has really embraced the festival, and people want to be a part of it.” GENERAL INFO The festival will be held Oct. 6 at its new location on the grounds of the Tennessee Children’s Home at the Kedron Road entrance. “We moved to the Children’s Home for a couple of reasons,” Chris says. “We have tons of room for growth, and being on the grounds of the Children’s Home, a recipient of our proceeds, makes it very special. It is a great reminder for me personally of why we volunteer the huge amounts of time to make this event happen.” Gates open at 10 a.m. Admission is free, and parking is $5. At 7 p.m., the festival will close with the firework finale. Festival organizers recommend bringing lawn chairs and blankets for use in the Pig Pen and firework show. For directions or additional information, visit www.countryhamfest.com. ENTERTAINMENT The music and entertainment line-up includes the festival’s first-ever clogging group called Tommy Jackson and Rocky Top Revue. Yahoo!’s National Yodeler Champion Taylor Ware is scheduled to perform. There will be a mini Opry show with Jerry Foster, Trey Young, Heather Davis, Charlie Allen and Special Guests. Most of the entertainers, when not performing, will be hanging out in the “Green Room” where they will be signing autographs for their fans. New this year will be a country store that features items such as honey, country ham, Jams and Jellies, Cracklins, sausage, soup mixes, corn meal, grits, pickled okra, chow chow, relish, homemade salsa and Amish baked goods. Additional vendor booths will showcase jewelry, a quilter, honey from Johnson’s Honey Farm, homemade jams, candles, pottery and more. All crafts are juried, and only handmade items are allowed, including quilts, tatting, hand poured candles, wreaths, jewelry, bird houses, benches, planters, and water fountains. A Garden Center will be selling mums, pumpkins and seasonal décor. The Spring Hill Arts Center booth will display prize ribbons showcasing winners of the children’s art contest. The booth also will feature local artists’ works for sale. SPONSORS INFO John Maher, he has been a title sponsor for all four years of the festival. “He has not only sponsored but always has supplied man hours for building of ham racks, setting out hay bales, and he even helped construct Wilbur’s house last year,” Chris says. “He has been a true partner in every sense of the word.” Other sponsors include: Maury Regional Hospital, stage sponsor for all four years Williamson Medical Center, Kids Zone sponsor Rotary Club of Spring Hill, food court sponsor Mid State Title and Escrow, hog calling contest sponsor Community South, ham curing competition sponsor