National Hollerin' Contest planned in Hope Mills

The National Hollerin' Festival in Spivey's Corner began when radio host Jon Thomas aired recordings of old farm hollers given to him by Spivy’s Corner native Ermon Godwin. According to a press release from the Spivey’s Corner Volunteer Fire Department, which ran the event, many of those who practiced the art of hollerin’ have since passed on.

Organizers said the decision to end the contest came after thinking about what Godwin, who said in his 1993 book that he never wanted the contest to become a joke, would have wanted.

Tickets for the World Wide Hollerin' Festival are $3 per person. Eighty percent of proceeds form the event will be donated to Wags4Tags, an organization that matches trained shelter dogs with veterans suffering from emotional or psychological injuries.