Franklin TN Goes Hog Wild
Franklin, TN Food & Spirits Festival
The last day in May, Saturday, May 31, goes up in flames around Franklin, Tennessee’s historic square as 9 pit masters roast pork in the time honored Southern tradition in an all day street festival, 12 noon to 7 p.m.
The festival is free; sampling the Q and all the fixins’ costs $25; but then some things are priceless, according to Mary Pearce, executive director of the Heritage Foundation of Franklin and Williamson County.
“This first annual Food & Spirits Festival will be filled with great Southern food and fun, with proceeds benefiting Southern Foodways Alliance and the Heritage Foundation’s “Save the Franklin Theatre” campaign.
The two-day event kicks off Friday, May 30 at 6:30 p.m. on the grounds of Historic Carnton Plantation in Franklin, TN where 9 celebrated pit masters; local chefs—celebrities in their own right; authors; and a pair of celebrated Southern chefs—John Fleer of Blackberry Farm, and Sean Brock from Charleston, S.C., formerly the executive chef at the 5-star Capitol Grill in Nashville’s Hermitage Hotel, will not only cook but mix and mingle with the guests.
A fire pit has already been dug at Carnton; a whole hog will be roasted. Some 300 guests are expected for this spirited evening of dining beneath sprawling tents on the emerald lawn.
Live entertainment includes a washboard band, out around the pit, the Pine Hill Haints; and beneath the tent, the sultry voice of Cissy Crutcher, who’ll be singing the blues. She’s a regular at B.B. King’s in downtown Nashville, Tennessee.
The tab for this Southern night of food, fun, spirits, music and celebrities is $150 per person which includes $25 in BBQ Bucks to be used at food and drink stations at Saturday’s street festival.
Festival goers will also meet local celebs like Carol Fay, the biscuit lady at Loveless Café, Belinda Ellis of White Lily flour (a Southern tradition in its own right) and cookbook authors Fred Thompson and John Egerton.
“The Heritage Foundation has built a reputation for putting on fantastic street festivals; this one will be no exception. Downtown Franklin, TN puts the welcome mat out for this kind of event. There’s plenty of free parking in the Second Avenue garage. Come on down,” she said.
For additional information, visit www.franklinfoodandspirits.com or www.historicfranklin.com.
