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www.shelbyinfo.com Our 41st Year • Issue No. 41 • October 10, 2024
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More than ‘mush - NC Liver Mush Festival coming to Shelby By Alan Hodge One of the world’s great culinary delicacies, liver mush, will be the center of attention Saturday, October 19 from 9am to 4pm in Uptown Shelby when the 39th annual North Carolina Liver Mush Festival (AKA Mush, Music & Mutts Festival) takes place. The event will feature liver mush cooking and eating, a variety of musical entertainment, dog shows, arts and crafts, and a whole lot of good, clean, family
Michael Brackett, a contestant in last year’s Mush, Music & Mutts Festival prepares to ingest a big hunk of liver mush.
fun. The NC Liver Mush Festival: Mush, Music & Mutts is a free festival presented annually by VISIT Cleveland County, a division of Cleveland County Government. Some folks may not know just exactly what liver mush is, so here’s a quick education on the stuff. Liver mush is a blend of ground scrap pork meat and liver, with a generous dash of spices, all held together with cooked cornmeal mush to make it sliceable. People generally eat Brooke and Darrin Aldridge it for breakfast alongside eggs, or in a sandwich or Liver mush also enjoyed popbiscuit. It is sold in brickshaped blocks that are cut into ularity during the Great Depresslices that are then fried. Some sion because it was an affordable substitute for more expensive folks even eat it raw. Food historians trace its ori- cuts of meat. These days, the five gins to German immigrants who commercial liver mush producate something called pon hoss, ers — Corriher’s, Hunter’s, Jenwhich was pork scraps blended kins, Mack’s, and Neese’s — are with buckwheat and spices, and all based in our state’s western then brought it to America during counties. Representatives and the 1700s. The food ultimately food from Mack’s Liver Mush and came south to the NC Mountains Frank Corriher’s Liver Mush preand Piedmont, where it was often sented by Shelby Rotary Club as a fundraiser for community ser made on farms.
Mush, Music & Mutts Festival folks can look forward to sampling plenty of eats such as This Mush, Music & Mutts Festival family brightened up last year’s event with matching outfits. Mack’s Livermush biscuits.
Gray Burn and Christy Dennis of Mack’s Livermush & Meats representatives handing out the eats at last year’s Mush, Music & Mutts Festival. (Photos provided)
Here are the liver mush recipe winners from last year’s Mush, Music & Mutts Festival. From left Mallory Kittrell, Diana Causby and Chris Burns. vice projects will be on hand at the event. Emily Epley with VISIT Cleveland County talked about the festival. “The NC Liver Mush Festival: Mush, Music & Mutts provides much more than just liver mush!” she said. “People can enjoy live music, kids activities, the RollOver Pet Zone, over 100 vendors, and more. With an estimated 2023 attendance of 12,000 with year over year growth, we are proud to bring the festival back better than ever in October 2024. The festival was started by Mack’s
Liver Mush in 1985 and has seen many variations over the years. Livermush is the catalyst though it has seen many transformations over the years. About 10 years ago, RollOver Pets, an Uptown Shelby pet supply store where ‘Pets bring their People’, joined in the fun. Fast forward to today where there is an entire section of the festival dedicated to pets and their people, presented by Rollover Pets.” Live Music has been part of the Liver mush Festival for many years. Since 2019, an emphasis See MUSH, Page 7
N SHOWS FACE PAINTING BALLOON TWISTING O I H OCTOBER 26TH S A F S O I I N D F L U A T TABLES S DANCE Live Music By:
Dirty Grass Soul Tyler Hatley
Mason Cole
Event Hosted By: Angie Brooks Boutique-Minnie Jean Design Co.-Sutton Brooks Boutique
Presenting Sponsor: Dragonfly Marketing and Events
THANK YOU SPONSORS -ABOVE THE BARRE -Figueroa Concrete Finishing -Go Big Print -PINK PARADISE
UPTOWN SHELBY
LAFAYETTE STREET
2-10 PM