Red Fern Festival

From Red Fern Festival Website:

If it weren't for Wilson Rawls, there would be no Red Fern Festival.

Rawls' novel, "Where the Red Fern Grows," is set in and around Tahlequah and tells the story of a boy and his two dogs. However, there's more to the story, and the story resonates with all who read it. Whether a person is in the sixth grade reading it in school or read it many years ago, the tale stays in the hearts and minds. Many are curious about the place the story is set, and want to see for themselves what inspired Billy Coleman.

Now in its seventh year, the Red Fern Festival is held in downtown Tahlequah on the last weekend in April. It is anchored at Norris Park and other festival activities take place at Capitol Square and Sequoyah City Park. Live music, hound dog field trials, a car show, a barbeque and chili cook-off, old fashioned children's games, fern sales, screening of the movie "Where the Red Fern Grows" are featured attractions of the event. One of the most popular aspects of the childrens events is the crawdad hole, which has free-range, hand-caught crawdads children can catch while learning about them from knowledgeable adults.

The Red Fern Festival has grown in scope each year, both in events, size and attendance numbers. The 2012 festival had approximately 8,000 in attendance. In its inaugural year in 2007, the event received a Citation of Merit from the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department for Outstanding New Event, and in its second year won the coveted RedBud Award for Outstanding New Event.