It’s back! The Luther Pecan Festival will be held after a one-year pandemic break. It’s back with new dates and a new location. Join us December 3 – 4, 2021. Yes, we are adding an extra day to buy pecans, shop for art and gifts, and enjoy live music and great food.
The location! The Luther Pecan Festival will move to the Couch Pecan Orchard! New owners, Mark & Teri Stroud, who purchased the beautiful orchard in 2020, are hosting the popular festival to celebrate one of Oklahoma’s most popular speciality crops, pecans while having a holiday shopping experience.
The orchard, if you didn’t know, is located right on Route 66 and Luther Road. Picture yourself shopping amongst the pecan trees after the fall harvest, visiting pop-up style booths featuring hand-made or curated gifts and treasures.
Making the plans, and going through all of the pictures, files and notes has been quite a trip down memory lane, going as far back as 2017, our first year. How can five years seem like such a lifetime ago? Look at this picture from our first year when the t-shirts came in. It’s of Dawn Shelton, Lela Carter and Morian Grady. I whold call this trio the Original Gangsters of the Luther Pecan Fest. We were so excited that day to have our tshirts from Jamie Harwick, featuring the design that Morian made, a design that we’ve brought back this year.
We could not have pulled off that first festival without Lela. When she died unexpectedly in January of 2019, our hearts broke. We miss her, but seeing her notes and pictures as we plan this new festival brings joy. She certainly wouldn’t have tolerated any weepiness.
The other day, I saw my friend Kathy from June Bugs Fresh Fried Gourmet Porkskins at the Arcadia Farmers Market. It was such a great visit, and we talked about how her chocolate pecan dipped porkskins were the bomb that first year of the festival. They were so good I knew they would be a good promotion for the event. We had a morning tv appearance for the festival (that Lela had booked). Kathy and I had never met in person, but I asked if we could have a bag to take on set. Both busy, Kathy and I worked out our schedules to meet in the parking lot of the gas station in Wellston to get “the goods.” We only had a moment to hug real fast and for her to toss the porkskin goodness in my car before we both raced on to the next things on our to do lists (while NOT speeding). A friendship was born that day. And I count so many other friendships and connections with wonderful people, just from doing this festival. What a blessing.
Planning a large event, during this lingering pandemic, poses some risks. But hey, so does having an outdoor event in December (or November, or frankly any day of the year). Why not just embrace the anxiety and go for it? All safety scenarios are being considered, and the logistics are coming together. Most of all, we hope for a beautiful event … with pecans, shopping, great food, awesome music and friends. Note, the Couch Pecan Orchard will open, as usual, on November 15, so you can get your pecans for holiday baking season. Then get some more at the festival!
We’ve all been through the ringer in the last year or so. Have we not? Thank you so much to those willing to lock arms to make this festival happen again, especially to Mark & Teri Stroud at Couch Pecans. Planning an outdoor event in a pandemic is really no big deal when you consider what our friends in agriculture contend with to bring in crops and earn a living. Remember that massive ice storm we had last year? How about that ridiculous freeze later? If you’ve driven by, you’ll see Couch Pecans still stands as it has for generations. Another pecan harvest will be here soon. The goodness is coming.
We are going to do some more videos to promote the festival, and tell the stories. So there’s another reason to drag me out of my comfort zone! I’m super comfortable on the backside of the camera or the keyboard. But it’s what the “kids” are doing these days. We can do hard things, and be like the kids. Please like, comment and share! 🙂
More pictures and then the details.
Details
Luther Pecan Festival, Dec. 3 – 4, 2021
Click here for the artist application.
Click here for the food truck application.
Does your community group, candidate, or cause want to be involved, let’s talk.
Email: dawnshelton@lutherregister.news
Sponsorship. An event like this cannot happen without the support of businesses and organizations who invest in their community. THANK YOU.
Click here for the sponsorship package.
See you in the pecan orchard, Dec. 3 – 4.
