Ham and Egg Show

This program takes a look at the unique legacy of Georgia's Ham and Egg Shows. The shows began as an educational program for black farmers to improve the quality of livestock and home cured meat. Today, the Lowndes County Extension Service coordinates the state's only remaining show. However, the Lowndes County show is an offspring of the Ft. Valley Ham and Egg Show, which, during the 1940s, also included a folk music festival.

Special thanks to the Lowndes County and Ft. Valley State University Extension Services and to Robert Church. Historic recordings of the Ft. Valley Folk Festival were aired courtesy of the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. The Sounds of South Georgia is made possible with support from Valdosta State University, and from the National Endowment for the Arts, which believes that a great nation deserves great art.

Glenwood Hill explains the judging of country cured hams as local farmers observe, Lowndes County Ham and Egg Show, 2000.

Photo by Laurie Kay Sommers.