Hillbilly Days facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Hillbilly Days |
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Crowd on Hambley Blvd.
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| Observed by | Pikeville, Kentucky, U.S. |
| Type | Event |
| Celebrations | Around 100,000 |
| Date | 15–17 April 2021 |
| Frequency | annual |
Hillbilly Days is a fun annual festival held in Pikeville, Kentucky. It happens every year in mid-April. This big event brings together over 100,000 people. Visitors come from all over North America to enjoy the celebration.
A very important part of Hillbilly Days is that it raises money. All the funds collected go to the local Shriners Hospital for Children. This hospital helps kids who need special medical care. The festival lets people have fun and celebrate the unique Appalachian culture.
History of Hillbilly Days
Hillbilly Days started a long time ago in 1977. It was created by a group called the Shriners. They wanted to find a way to raise money for the Shriners Hospital for Children. Two Shriners, Howard "Dirty Ear" Stratton and "Shady" Grady Kinney, got the idea in 1976. They had visited a similar festival in Portsmouth, Ohio.
They gathered other Shriners and began the festival in 1977. It has been held every year since then. In 2011, the festival raised an amazing $72,000 for the hospital. Each year, over 100,000 people attend. They come to experience the culture of the Appalachian Mountains. Many participants wear overalls and other country-style clothes. They walk through the streets of Pikeville to help raise money for this good cause.
The people who plan Hillbilly Days start working very early. They usually begin meeting in September. They work hard on their plans almost every day until the festival starts in April. The year 2020 was the first time the festival was canceled. This was after 44 years of continuous events.
