John Roger Simon Sorghum Festival returns Oct. 7-8

The John Roger Simon Sorghum Festival is back this fall, returning Oct. 7-8 from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. at 8721 Careys Run-Pond Creek Road, Portsmouth.

After running for 37 straight years, the annual festival was thought to be permanently retired in 2018 as an inevitable consequence of its aging organizers. The story of this beloved event,  however, took a surprising turn when the nonprofit Arc of Appalachia and John Roger Simon collaborated to bring the Sorghum Festival back to life in 2022.

The event will be back for its 39th season this October – held outside West Portsmouth on Carey’s Run-Pond Creek Road. This beloved community celebration takes place at John Roger Simon’s historic well-preserved fifth-generation French homestead on the banks of Pond Creek, framed by the farm’s 500-plus acres of forested Appalachian hills.

The event is free to the public and features the making of sorghum syrup, heritage crafts demonstrations, southern food and the jamming of musicians playing old-time music.

For more information, visit https://www.arcofappalachia.org/simonsorghumfestival.