Red Fern Festival set for April 28-29
By LEE GUTHRIE news @ tahlequahdailypress . com
The 15th celebration of the annual Red Fern Festival will be April 28-29 .
The festival is celebrating 50 years since the filming of “ Where the Red Fern Grows .”
The novel “ Where the Red Fern Grows ” by Wilson Rawls , tells the tale of a young boy who saves his money to travel to Tahlequah and purchase two red-bone hound hunting dogs . A movie based on the book was filmed in 1974 , and featured many locals from Tahlequah and the surrounding area . In 2003 , a remake of the film was done .
Held to commemorate the film , the festival offers multiple activities to spend a fun-filled weekend . One of the most popular is the dog trials . A street fair , splash pad , arts and crafts , food , and other vendors will crowd the street with activities for families to participate in , items to buy , and food to eat .
Hundreds of rubber ducks get dumped into the Town Branch Creek , as the young and old cheer on their ducks to the finish line . A fundraiser organized by Leadership Tahlequah through the Chamber of Commerce , ducks are sold for $ 5 , and three winners will receives a money prize .
Muskogee Avenue will be closed from Goingsnake to Choctaw . A beer garden and additional small stage will be added to the venue this year . A petting zoo and numerous kids games will be available to keep the children occupied .
Musicians Katelyn Myers , Sister Stone , and Stonegate Fence will perform on Friday , April 28 and Saturday ’ s lineup of performers has yet to be announced .
The Miss / Mr . Red Fern Pageant is open to boys and girls this year and has nine categories a child can compete in from 2-18 years of age . The aim is leadership training .
“[ Contestants in the pageant ] were asked to volunteer for Main Street Association events last year , to make appearances at the Cherokee National Holiday events , the Christmas parade and the tree lighting . Miss Red Fern was the MC [ at the tree lighting ]. This allows them to network with the community and be a face of the community ,” said Kristi Eubanks , owner of Junie ’ s Closet and the organizer of the pageant .
Organized by the Main Street Association , several committees staffed by around 200 volunteers take care of the many details and work necessary to put on an event of this size . Over the years , the festival has grown and evolved . It is estimated between 15,000-17,000 people attended in 2022 .
Festivities will start Friday , April 28 , at noon . The dog trials begin at 7 p . m . on Friday , April 28 , and the duck race launches at 4 p . m . on Saturday , April 29 . The screening of the 1974 movie , “ Where the Red Fern Grows ,” will start at dark in Norris Park . Two more screenings will take place on Saturday . For a full schedule of events , go to www . tahlequahmainstreet . com / re-fern-festival . html .
24 Green Country Scene • Volume 4 • Issue 2