Once a year people from all walks of life and from all of the hollers of Appalachia come out for one weekend in April, Hillbilly days. A holiday to down some moonshine and listen to some good bluegrass music Hillbilly Days is a festival talked about around the country and one of the few things that shines a light on Eastern Kentucky. Here is how you can survive your first encounter with Hillbilly Days.
1. Be Aware of the Hillbillies
You may just think this is just the name of this giant festival but you would be seriously wrong. This is the one week these moonshiners, rumrunners and hill-folk emerge from their hollers and they flood the streets of Pikeville, KY. When I say flood I mean they shut the whole town down for three days, the University of Pikeville (UPIKE) has to cancel class, the roads are blocked off so you can't drive through and you will be shoulder to shoulder with these people while walking through the streets. The hillbillies are decked out in their finest overalls and muddiest cowboy boots adorning beards that make the Duck Dynasty envy. This is a holiday celebrating these people it's only fair that we celebrate with them.
2. Students Aren't Drinking Lemonade Out of Their Souvenir Lemonade Cups
UPIKE Students love Billy days for the moonshine and the fact it cancels class. UPIKE is a dry campus and there is only one bar in town, so when there is a holiday for moonshine they aren't going to be drinking lemonade while walking down the street. In their Souvenir cups from the giant strawberry and lemon stand you will most likely find a mixture of cheap booze and juice or the good moonshine you can only find here in Appalachia. Don't be too hard on them though being in college is hard and they can point you into the direction of the good stuff.
3. Never Say No to a Deep-Fried Brownie
Everything at Hillbilly Days is deep fried and when I say everything I really mean everything. You can get deep fried: brownies, Twinkies, candy bars, pickles, cookies, literally everything. This isn't the average funnel cake kind of festival and you need to just embrace it. Sure you might gain 40 pounds in three days but it'll be worth it, by god.
4. There is an Unspoken Dress Code
As student rock their obnoxiously short jean shorts, cowboy boots, flannels and straw hats they make look ridiculous but please follow suit. Rock the Hillbilly look whatever that means to you. UPIKE Students may take it far, but if thats how they celebrate the occasion applaud them and prove you have just as much pride as they do by rocking a good old pair of overalls with some holes in them. Rock the hillbilly look for three days and then you can go back to your normal style, you got this.
5. Walk and Walk Until you Can Walk No More
There is so much to see so keep going until you have seen it all more than once. Even if you now live in Pikeville take all the tourist pictures you can, especially with the Hatfield and McCoy bears in town. Go to the craft booths and buy presents for family and friends. Eat your weight in deep fried everything and drink a whole jar of moonshine. Enjoy the three days people in Eastern Kentucky wait for all year.
