Chuckwagons Bring a Taste of the Trail to Saddle Up!
Four-day Pigeon Forge festival features cowboy food, music, poetry and culture
PIGEON FORGE, Tenn. (February 2010)—Five authentic chuckwagons will roll in to Pigeon Forge, Tenn., for a cookoff that will bring a taste of the Old West to East Tennessee.
The chuckwagon cookoff is part of Saddle Up!, a four-day celebration of the American West, Feb. 25-28. In addition to the cookoff, the festival features concerts of Western music and cowboy poetry, a Cowboy Church service and other activities. American Cowboy Magazine has named Saddle Up! a 2010 Best of the West event.
A fully equipped, authentic chuckwagon can cost in excess of $15,000, so the competition is serious. The teams will prepare chicken-fried steaks, potatoes, beans, bread, fruit cobblers and other dishes for the Pigeon Forge cookoff. They are judged on food, wagons and camp set-ups.
The teams are members of the American Chuck Wagon Association’s Southeast Chapter. Wagons will travel to Pigeon Forge from Georgia and North Carolina and carry names such Grumpy’s Grub, Cow Camp, Ramblin’ Rose, Fairplay Cattle Co. and Yellow Rose.
The chuckwagon cookoff is Saturday, Feb. 27, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. at Clabough’s Campground on Wears Valley Road. There’s no fee to inspect the chuckwagon camps and observe the cooking. Following the judging, lunch will be available for $5; ticket sales begin at 9 a.m., and proceeds benefit Cal Farley’s Boys Ranch in Amarillo, Texas.
Saturday’s activities also include a Buckaroo Roundup, where visitors can ride a mechanical bull, learn how to rope, hear cowboy poetry and tales of the trail and listen to musical performances. Admission to the Buckaroo Roundup is free.
Saddle Up! begins Thursday, Feb. 25. Entertainers include Don Edwards, Waddie Mitchell, R. W. Hampton, Dave Stamey, Ray Doyle, Jeff Gore and Silver Valley, and Sisters of the Silver Sage.
Other activities include a non-denominational Cowboy Church service, Western swing dances and a reunion of cast members of “The Virginian” television series.
Concert venues are the Grand Majestic Theater (1,000 seats) and the Smith Family Dinner Theater (800 seats). The dances will be at Pigeon Forge Convention Center Grand Ballroom, and Cowboy Church will be at Stages West.
Admission information: Day passes are $20; weekend passes are $50. All prices are plus tax. Ages 17 and younger are admitted free.
Tickets are available at Country Tonite Theatre at 1-800-792-4308. Admission to the dance is $5 per person; ages 17 and younger are admitted free. Cowboy Church is free.
The complete festival schedule is online at www.MyPigeonForge.com/saddleup. Information about all aspects of visiting Pigeon Forge is at www.MyPigeonForge.com or 1-800-251-9100.
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Contact:
Tom Adkinson, APR
615-341-3640