Yee-haw! Are you a redneck? You don’t have to be one to head on out to Ashtabula County this weekend for the Redneck Games and Festival. “It’s gonna be a Redneck Woodstock,” promises the event promotion, which describes it as “taking place in the middle of nowhere” (actually, it’s happening at Animal Lover’s Retreat and Campground, 7070 Hammond Corners Rd., in Pierpont, about 50 miles east of Cleveland). The adults-only event features two days of bluegrass, classic rock and country music, lots to eats and drinks, and a bunch of crazy contests — from a “Daisy Duke” cutoff shorts contest and a Biggest Beer Belly competition to hog calling and a mud-pit tug of war. Here’s the best part: The campground is owned by the nonprofit Place-A-Pet Foundation that runs an adjoining animal sanctuary, so the proceeds benefit the organization. It’s $10 a day, $15 for two-day primitive camping. You can arrive Friday night and head three miles down the road to Raceway 7 in Conneaut for dirt-track racing; admission $15. — Anastasia Pantsios
This article appears in Aug 5-11, 2009.
Growing up in Pierpont (now a Clevelander), I never considered myself a redneck nor participated in any of the above activities (okay, maybe I’ve gone “giggin'” before…just that one time…). I do not appreciate the stereotype Pierpont gets as being in the middle of nowhere and filled with a bunch of rednecks. (Trust me, I dealt with it all through high school in the “big city” of Ashtabula.) However, I am pleased that this event is going for a good cause. If you’re going, be sure to check out what else this area has to offer, like many great wineries and covered bridges. But then again, who actually goes to both a redneck festival and a winery in the same weekend? Okay, now maybe I’m being stereotypical…
And P.S. This location is actually in Monroe Township, not Pierpont.