The South’s most acquired taste: Welcome to the Yatesville Chitlin Hoedown

YATESVILLE – Macon’s Cheri Frame will never forget the time  when she and her husband, Rick, were dating, and they went to the annual Chitlin Hoedown.

She had seen it listed on a calendar of events with other fall festivals in the area. She asked Rick if he would like to take the 40-mile trip on Highway 74 to Yatesville.

“Sure,’’ he said. “But what’s a chitlin?’’

If only Cheri had known herself.

They arrived around lunchtime. There was a stench in the air. They were in unfamiliar territory.

When they went to a festival food booth to order their chitlins, they were asked if they wanted them boiled or fried. Rick shrugged and placed to-go orders for one of each.

That strong, pervading smell followed them back to the truck.

On the way home to Macon, Cheri called her mother, Judye Gunnells. She said they had been to the festival, and they were bringing her a plate.

“Oh gosh, do you know what chitlins are?” her mother said. “Don’t you dare bring them to my house.”

Chitlins are pig intestines.

“We thought we were getting her something special,”  Cheri said. “We pulled over at a convenience store and threw them in a trash can.”

No, not everyone who attends the annual Yatesville Chitlin Hoedown Festival on the fourth Saturday in October will give chitlins a ringing endorsement.

It’s an acquired taste.

Some folks can’t stand to be in the same room with them.

Others can’t stand to be in the same zip code.

But there are plenty who will have a heaping helping and scurry back for seconds. One woman is known for being first in line at the festival when they start serving, then doubles down and orders several plates to go.

The proper name for chitlins is chitterlings, but there is no need to be fancy-mouthed about it.

It takes guts to eat them … no pun intended.

About 1,000 people – almost three times the population of the blinking light town of Yatesville – are expected to attend this year’s festival on Saturday, Oct 26.  Some will opt out and side with the barbecue chicken, which has become a popular alternative.

I wonder why.

In 1983, former Mayor Walter “Bo” Boyt decided the citizens of Yatesville should rally together and stir up a big pot of community spirit.

Someone suggested having a festival.  They figured if Ellijay could hold an apple festival, Sylvester could pay homage to peanuts, Warwick could throw a grits fest and Colquitt could raise a toast to mayhaw jelly, then tiny Yatesville could collectively lift its forks and have a parade for pork bellies.

Not surprisingly, hosting a chitlin festival was wide open in Georgia. First come, first serve.

A few of the townspeople headed to Salley, S.C., to observe the Chitlin’ Strut Festival, which has been held annually since 1966 on the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

At its first festival, Yatesville ran out of 500 pounds of cooked chitlins, and volunteers combed every grocery store in Barnesville and Thomaston to round up some more. Boyt later laughed and said some folks probably showed up to “see fools eat 500 pounds of chitlins.’’

After four decades of festivals, many who attend still won’t go near the chitlins. Others come strictly for the chitlins.

Samantha “Sam” Jenkins serves as the festival’s chairperson and admits she is not a huge fan of them. She has only had them twice. The first time was out of curiosity, the second was on a dare.

“I put them in my mouth and chewed and chewed,’’ she said, laughing. “The more I chewed, the bigger it got so I spit it out.’’

Still, she understands how chitlins have been a way of life for Southerners.  For years, they have been a staple for country folks … and country folks at heart.

Jenkins had an aunt and uncle who lived in South Georgia and  were always nostalgic about “hog killing” time when the cool weather moved in and the holidays were approaching.

“They had chitlins as a reminder of what it was like when they had nothing,’’ she said. “It was a way of paying respect to where they came from.’’

  Virtually none of the pig goes to waste – from the brains to the feet to the ears and jowl. So, naturally, the intestines were available, too.

“My great aunt used to say we ate everything but the squeal,’’ said Phyl Gatlin, co-owner of Anna Lee’s Antiques & Gifts in Yatesville.

Gatlin is also a photojournalist who has worked at newspapers in Savannah and Thomaston and chronicled the festival through her camera lens over the years. She laughed and said she carries a scarf to cover her nose and mouth when she takes photos of the chitlins being cooked.

The festival was not held in 2020 and ‘21 because of COVID. It  returned two years ago but no chitlins were available because labor issues impacted the supply chain.

Boyt is now 92 years old and will be honored as “Mr. Chitlin” at this year’s festival. His four daughters – Deborah Griffith, Denice Long, Denita Hall and Dena Mason – will serve as the Mrs. Chitlins.

Jenkins said proceeds support local causes such as the Yatesville Senior Center, the fire department and the Boy Scouts.

“We also help people who are in need,’’ she said. “We have had families who have lost their houses to fires and tornadoes. We have people who can’t pay their water or electric bills or need help with funeral expenses. We are always trying to give back. ‘A CARING COMMUNITY’ are not just words up there on that water tower. It’s the actual truth.’’

It’s nice to see folks have a great time for a worthy cause.

Pass the chitlins. Or not.

Ed Grisamore has been a newspaper columnist in Middle Georgia for more than 45 years. He is the author of nine books and received the 2024 John Holliman Lifetime Achievement Award from the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Georgia.