Hillbilly Day celebrates 50 years

Independent Mail file photo

A woman throws a log at one of the events at the Hillbilly Days festival in Mountain Rest, S.C., in 2008.

MOUNTAIN REST — For the past 50 years, Mountain Rest community members have been paying tribute to their mountain home.

And this year, they expect about 15,000 people to join them.

Mountain Rest will conduct its annual Hillbilly Days festival July 4 celebrating a simpler way of life.

Mack Moore, Mountain Rest Community Club vice president, said it will be an event for the whole family.

“In the morning we’ll have games for the children out in a big, open field,” he said. “There’s a pig chase with a greased pig, and a greased pole climb, and old-fashioned games like an egg toss. We’ll even have awards for the kids that win.”

Throughout the day, craft vendors will sell things mountain people would have wanted or made, like jewelry or handmade soaps, he said.

And, of course, he said, there will be music — bluegrass music, to be exact.

“It’s just a whole lot of good, wholesome entertainment for everyone,” he said. “Bring your lawn chairs and sit and relax for a while.”

There’s also, of course, the food.

Moore said cooks would prepare 72 smoked hams, 120 whole chickens, 260 pounds of pinto beans, 30 gallons of coleslaw and 80 gallons of tea.

Starting at 10:30 a.m. food plates will be sold for $6 each.

“You know, when you think about it, you can’t hardly eat at McDonald’s for that, and the food isn’t nearly as good, don’t you think?” Moore asked.

Best of all, the six-hour event and all the parking are free, he said.

And the event is gaining in popularity. Moore said he thinks it is because of the simpler way of life the event represents.

“I think what’s happening is that people are realizing that, ‘I need to take care of myself and my family, and I don’t need all this stuff. We can get buy with a whole lot less than what we have right now,’” he said. “They look back and they see what people in days gone by had to do, and it makes them stop and think. It makes you a better type of person, I think.”

And, of course, the setting doesn’t hurt either.

“The beauty of the mountain is that there’s a lot of quietness, and sometimes it gets loud, but it doesn’t last long,” he said. “We invite everyone to come up and see … and make new friends. People from Alaska and California, all across this great land, have come up to our Hillbilly Days. It’s a great way to spend the day.”

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