The Boone Show - S5 E3 - Denver Downs Farm Fall Festival with Catherine Garrison

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Uncover the vibrant world of autumn charm with our special guest, Catherine Garrison from Denver Downs. Catherine takes us on a journey through the farm’s latest attractions, including a patriotic-themed corn maze and an array of beautiful mums and sunflowers, even as the farm faces the challenges of drought. Her enthusiasm for the season shines through as we chat about the nostalgic joys of fall, from bonfires to Clemson football excitement, particularly the upcoming game against Stanford. Catherine also gives us an inside look at the farm's deep-rooted history and its transformation into a beloved agritourism destination.

Our episode takes an entertaining twist with tales of pig racing and the creative process behind naming these adorable animals after celebrities. We laugh over names like Dabo Swiney and Snoop Hoggy Hogg, highlighting the farm's playful spirit. As we explore the unpredictable college football season, we discuss the potential impact of a new 12-team playoff format and reflect on Clemson's strategies, as well as the evolving dynamics of college sports with NIL and transfer portal issues reshaping the landscape. There's a lot to ponder as we reflect on both past glories and current challenges faced by student-athletes.

Wrapping up, we look ahead to the exciting events at Denver Downs, the PlatyPulse Pickleball Palooza and Boo in the Park, capturing the essence of community spirit and fun. 

We dive into the significant role agritourism plays in sustaining family farms, providing a glimpse into farm life for thousands of schoolchildren, and drawing visitors to the area. With insights into upcoming trends and farm expansions, like potential vineyards, we celebrate the innovation driving Denver Downs forward. Catherine’s positive energy and dedication leave us eager for the weekend’s festivities and grateful for the community’s support. Don’t forget to catch more episodes on Spotify to stay ahead of all the autumn excitement!

Thanks for listening! Direct all inquiries to [e-mail].

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey everybody, welcome to the Boone Show on
MyPulse Radio.
We are glad to be with you.
A lot going on in the fallmonths.
Love the fall, my favoriteseason of the year, I think it's
mine too.
It's just everything that goeson is cool.
I mean the weather changes andyou get that little the smell in
the air Football.

Speaker 4 (00:20):
Football.

Speaker 1 (00:21):
And bonfires and Denver Downs.
Corn mazes and All that stuff,and all those wonderful things.
Yeah, and my birthday.

Speaker 2 (00:31):
And mine too.

Speaker 1 (00:32):
Yeah, that's right, although I'm not looking forward
to mine this year.
Yeah, she's got a big one,Catherine.

Speaker 2 (00:36):
I do.
They've got to celebrate.
Yes, yes, yeah.

Speaker 1 (00:40):
Catherine Garrison is with us from Denver Downs.
She hasn't been here in acouple of years.

Speaker 2 (00:44):
Holly, she's always entertaining.

Speaker 1 (00:45):
Yeah, she's just an entertainer They've always got
so much going on, it's fine.
Well, thank you all so much forhaving me today, and it's a
pleasure being with you all andtalking about all the fun stuff
we've got coming up in the nextfew weeks.
Well, first, the main questionis are you going to tell us what
the corn maze is.

Speaker 5 (01:02):
Oh yes, so we are announcing our design.
It is God Bless America.

Speaker 1 (01:07):
Oh, nice Election year and all that.
We need that too.

Speaker 5 (01:11):
Patriotic theme, so we've got an American flag and
the Statue of Liberty torch andan eagle are all in the design.

Speaker 2 (01:21):
I want to know that as we get into this.
I want to know the process, tofigure out who is the final
decision, or do you have a groupof people that make decisions
like you know what?
What's that?
Because that's a big part ofdenver downs.

Speaker 5 (01:33):
It is what's?
Uh, we like to sit around thekitchen table and talk about it
a lot.
It's a big topic ofconversation starting, um, as
soon as this year's over, we'llstart talking about next year.
Yes, so we belong to anassociation of corn mazes across
the country and sometimesthey'll bring up ideas that
they've been approached with.

(01:53):
So this year it was an optionwe could have.
Well, last year we did RebaMcIntyre and that was something
that Reba's people had.
Approached our ma mazecorporate company or convention
group of farmers and asked ifanyone wanted to do Reba Maze
then they were welcome to dothat.

(02:14):
So that was fun being part ofthat this year.
This year they came up withLuke Bryan.

Speaker 1 (02:19):
I noticed that there's a few places like around
the state that are doing LukeBryan.

Speaker 5 (02:24):
I know some farms that are doing that, one and
another one is Peanuts.
Oh, that's always good, likethe comic.
Yes, charles.

Speaker 2 (02:31):
Schultz yeah.

Speaker 5 (02:32):
They're celebrating an anniversary with that cartoon
.
So we did that.
A few years ago we did theGreat Pumpkin, charlie Brown.
That was a fun theme.
But this year we decided, sinceit was election year, to do
something positive about theelection and just say you know,
god bless America.
Very cool, but unfortunatelythe corn has not done well this

(02:55):
year.
So, we've been a victim of thedrought.
Our corn has been a victim ofthe drought.
Oh, no, Specifically not justus, but we've had.
Despite a lot of irrigation andjust trying to keep everything
watered, the corn is not as highas it normally is and not as
thick as it usually is.
So we just want to make surefolks know about that before

(03:17):
they head out to the farm.
But we've got all the otherincredible things around the
farm that people are still goingto have fun with All the
activities and our flowers havedone really well.
We've got gorgeous sunflowersand pick-your-own bouquet
flowers and 2,500 mums thatwe're selling.

Speaker 2 (03:32):
Holy cow, just 2,500.

Speaker 1 (03:35):
Those things are usually huge too right.

Speaker 5 (03:37):
Exactly, they're jumbo mums.

Speaker 1 (03:39):
We like to say by the way, since I didn't introduce
everybody here, I'm John Boone,hence the Boone Show.
We didn't spend much time onthe titling part of the show.
But Holly is here, the bosshere at ACTC and the esteemed
co-host, and then the nextgeneration of Harold over there,
which we weren't even expecting, and she just bopped right in

(04:02):
here.
Madeline's here, so welcome.
I had no clue that the show inhere.
Madeline's here, welcome.

Speaker 4 (04:05):
I had no clue that the show was today.
Oh, it's usually Tuesday at 4o'clock.

Speaker 1 (04:10):
So your mom's trying to keep you from being?

Speaker 4 (04:12):
on.
It looks like it.
Oh man, we'll have to have atalk about that.
She really doesn't want me totake her class, really.
She's really cheering me on.

Speaker 1 (04:18):
I've given up on that You're going to talk to
katherine about all things goingon at the farm, as it's really
kind of becoming a year-roundattraction.
It's getting there, it seems.
Uh, so we'll talk about thatand uh, we had some students uh

(04:39):
come up with some questionstoday oh, I love the students
questions about the, about thefarm.
So they are.
They are interesting.
Uh, we'll get to that and ofcourse, zach will be along.
Speaking of interesting, wehaven't talked to him in a few
weeks about, uh, football and ofcourse clemson has found its
offense and uh, yeah, big timeand hopefully they can.

(05:00):
They can keep it up.
Who we play this week?
Stanford?
Oh well, they're not that goodthen.

Speaker 2 (05:04):
Well, they lost now I was surprised they lost.
This past week they have beenwinning.

Speaker 5 (05:11):
Stanford has been winning.
Is this a home game or a roadgame?
This is homecoming.

Speaker 1 (05:14):
Because, that's a long trip if you've got to go
out there.

Speaker 2 (05:16):
Yeah, it's homecoming , that's right.

Speaker 1 (05:18):
The, the new, what do you call it?
Conferences?
Yes, these colleges are flyingall over the country.

Speaker 5 (05:28):
I saw one of the most unusual things I'd ever seen
with Stanford when Stanford andClemson played in Orlando.
I believe that was a CitrusBowl many years ago.
Y'all remember this, but thisis one of the craziest things
I'd ever seen.
They were marching down themain street in Orlando One of
the craziest things I'd everseen.
They were marching down themain street in Orlando and one
of the Stanford band members hada mouse on their shoulder A

(05:52):
live mouse, a live mouse ontheir shoulder while they were
marching in the parade and theywould stop and the mouse would
move around a little bit.

Speaker 2 (06:00):
Is that part of the band or is that part of that?

Speaker 5 (06:03):
student, that student , that particular student.
So I thought stanford has areputation.

Speaker 1 (06:07):
Their band has a reputation for being pretty
crazy oh, I didn't know that,yeah that just verified.

Speaker 5 (06:14):
They do some crazy things uh, they've been.

Speaker 1 (06:18):
if you, if you look up stanford band, you know not
only were they on the field,that famous game where the uh,
they got run over or whatever,that famous football highlight
you see all the time but theirband itself is just crazy.
The people get in there andthey have a reputation of just
going out having a lot of fun.
I did not know that.
Not necessarily bad things, butoccasionally some controversial
things in the eyes of others.

Speaker 2 (06:37):
Well, there's where the mouse comes in, but a mouse
would be pretty tame, it seems.

Speaker 1 (06:52):
I've got some chickens and some goats and pigs
I could bring up for the game.

Speaker 2 (06:54):
What can you put them on?
Bring the whole petting zoo?

Speaker 1 (06:55):
yes, it would add some excitement to it.
What time is the game this week?
Seven, seven.

Speaker 2 (06:57):
We've had some early games going on, yeah so oh, last
week was miserable did you go?
Last week.

Speaker 5 (07:00):
it was hot, wasn't it ?
We were in that field.
It was really hot, it was somiserable.
I mean super miserable, yeah itshould be if it's not raining.

Speaker 1 (07:10):
So we'll talk more about that, with Zach coming up
and his thoughts on howClemson's doing now.
And speaking of the rain,catherine, you've got a grand
opening coming up this weekend.
That's right, and it's supposedto rain buckets well, but clear
before the weekend.

Speaker 5 (07:26):
So that's right.
How does?
It drain out there at denverdance well I'm telling you, we
have had such a drought thatthat rain is going to soak right
into the ground and saturdaymorning no one is going to be
able to tell that it rained adrop all right, that's good to
hear right now the field looksbeautiful and we've got
everything m mowed and all theflowers and things edged and
just all the tractors are inplace and the field looks

(07:49):
absolutely gorgeous.
So we're going to be ready.

Speaker 1 (07:52):
If it gets wet right now, it'll be fine by Saturday
morning, yeah what they'resaying now is really from
Thursday afternoon to Fridayafternoon and then clearing out
that's what I've heard too, soit should be a beautiful weekend
, so hopefully I'll have achance, but Friday's going to be
nasty.
Miserable Is it yes.

Speaker 2 (08:06):
And very windy.

Speaker 4 (08:08):
E-learning day, and that's what affects schools is
the wind.

Speaker 5 (08:10):
You've already decided that.

Speaker 1 (08:11):
No no, no, no, no, no .
I just throw those things outthere to get.
Holly off kilter, let me justsay this Absolutely not.

Speaker 2 (08:20):
There is not call made.
We have to talk with emergencymanagement.
No, don't get all that started,Mr Bain.
No, no, no.

Speaker 1 (08:27):
There is discussion.
The kids are already talkingabout it, that's for sure.
Okay, teachers are planning onit.
Oh yeah, teachers are planningon it.
I never plan on it.

Speaker 2 (08:33):
When winds are over a certain speed, buses cannot be
on roads.
Oh gotcha, so that's a.
So if the winds are going to bethat bad, it's what about 30
miles an hour or something likethat?
Yeah, I think once it hits thatwind gusts of 40 miles an hour,
then it can't.

Speaker 1 (08:47):
Which they're saying it could be, so we'll see oh wow
.
Okay, we need the rain, that'sfor sure.
Yeah, okay, so enough smalltalk, let's actually get on to
what we wanted it's 23.

Speaker 5 (09:04):
you think it's 23.

Speaker 1 (09:05):
yes, and denver down's farm.
I looked it up celebrating what155 years, I believe this year.

Speaker 5 (09:12):
That's right.

Speaker 1 (09:13):
Yes, 155 years now.
That's a long time to keepsomething in the family right
yes, that's, ourgreat-grandfather bought it
after the civil war.

Speaker 5 (09:21):
he came back from the civil war or the war between
the states, um, and he had onedollar in his pocket.
So he went to work for a localcotton mill and back then a lot
of cotton mills had their ownfarms.
So he was a farm manager forseveral years and saved up money
and he bought his own farmRight there at the same location
yes, 200 acres.
There was just a little dirtroad called Old General's Road.

Speaker 1 (09:42):
Plumps in.

Speaker 5 (09:42):
Boulevard.

Speaker 2 (09:43):
Now it's a little bit bigger than a dirt road now.
So do you still have all 200acres?
Um, yes, so none of it's everbeen sold?

Speaker 5 (09:52):
no, that is incredible 155 years yes and it
was a dairy farm right yes, soover the years we had expanded
and um then, um, our parentshave passed away and so we
divided up the land and mysister and I've kept the
original farmstead, the originalland.

Speaker 2 (10:08):
We still have right there, wow, farms and we're, you
know, we're partners withagritourism business that's
right, so we're still workingtogether and keeping it in the
family and do you think yourchildren I mean, I know, they're
still young like both you andyour sister are have young
children?

Speaker 5 (10:23):
yes, well, my sister Lee, her children are in their
20s, my nephew Garrison, he's incommercial real estate here in.
Anderson and my niece is in HRwith a real estate company in
Charlotte and they both lovebeing involved with it, so I
think they'll be coming back,and my boys are in middle school
and high school right now, sothey work there on the weekends.

Speaker 2 (10:47):
They do.
Well, that's good.
Yes, so you think maybe they'llstay in the family and continue
this tradition?
I hope so.

Speaker 5 (10:54):
That's what I'm hoping they will, but they could
always go away and come back,which?
Is what a lot of us did.
That's right.

Speaker 1 (10:59):
Oh, you went to Charleston for a while, right
yeah, charleston for a while,right yeah, yes, I lived in
Charleston 20 years and in 2006,I got involved with our fall
festival.

Speaker 5 (11:08):
Back then it was just a corn maze, so I got involved
with a corn maze and I woulddrive back and forth from
Charleston every weekend, so itwas a lot of traveling for me,
but then I moved back here fulltime in 2019.
And so I'm right there at thefarm.
So, yeah, that's one reasonwe've expanded what we're doing.
You know that we're having moreevents throughout the year.
Our Easter egg hunt has turnedmore into multiple weekends

(11:32):
during the spring and we added asunflower festival, so it takes
a lot of people to workingtogether to make it all happen.

Speaker 1 (11:40):
We're skipping ahead a little bit.
But since we're talking aboutthat, are there plans for any
other events to spread out thetime that you're not covering so
far?

Speaker 5 (11:48):
We'd like to, we'd really like to do something for
Christmas, but right now wealways say that we're just
exhausted after the fall, afterthe fall festival?

Speaker 2 (11:56):
yeah, so is there times that the farm is closed?

Speaker 5 (12:00):
Yes, like seasons yes , so actually we're only open
for our specific festivals.
Okay, and that's it.
And that's it.
Yes, we don't have any open.
We have some company events orlarge church groups may want to
get together or like forweddings or parties.
We'll have people out at thefarm for special events.

(12:21):
But when we're open to thepublic, it's just for our
festivals, just for thefestivals.

Speaker 2 (12:25):
Okay, Because it seems like there's always
something happening at yourfacility.
Somewhere on your propertythere's something happening,
Well sure enough if one thingends.
They're already starting topromote the next thing that
could be it they may be closedfor a while, but they're
promoting what's coming up next.

Speaker 1 (12:42):
So yeah, they're always in the news that Denver
Islands See those billboardseverywhere.

Speaker 5 (12:46):
Good, yeah, good choice on the billboards, oh
thanks.

Speaker 1 (12:50):
Because I always see them All right.
So this year's festival whatcan we look forward to?
What are some new attractions?
What's going on with thisyear's festival?

Speaker 5 (13:03):
Okay, well, to kick off, so each weekend of the fall
festival we have kind of aspecific theme.
So in October the themes areall about the pumpkins.
So here at the end of Septemberit's our flower festival
weekend.
So we'll be really talking alot about our beautiful mums.
So the mums we plant back inJune and they are ready to go
ready for people's front porchesabout this time.

(13:25):
So people will be coming out tothe farm to get their moms and
we'll have tons of flowers thatpeople can do you pick.
We've got big vases or bucketsthat they can fill up with
flowers to take home.
And then, of course, the livemusic and bonfires.
They'll be going on thisweekend.
We've got a great lineup ofmusicians for the whole fall and

(13:46):
that's on our website.
So mostly it's Friday nights,saturday afternoon, saturday
evening and then Sundayafternoon.

Speaker 1 (13:54):
And a different, various genres, variety of music
.

Speaker 5 (13:59):
Yes, a lot of focus on Southern rock country.
This year we are adding inOctober we're having our first
Christian music band, jasonCrabb Right.

Speaker 1 (14:12):
From the Crabb family .

Speaker 5 (14:13):
back in the day they were a big-time Christian music
band, oh yeah, and he's got agreat song called Good Morning
Mercy.
I know we hear that onChristian radio a lot, but it's
just a great inspiration.
He's a great inspirationalstory and we had kind of met him
through some different thingsand next thing you know he's

(14:36):
coming out to perform at thefarm.
Great, we haven't had atwo-time Grammy Award winner in
a while.

Speaker 1 (14:41):
That's awesome.
What date is that?

Speaker 5 (14:43):
That's October, the 27th Sunday afternoon All right.
And he has a comedian that'swith him, named Mickey Bell.
Some people know that comedian.

Speaker 1 (14:52):
I don't know him, but hey, it's always fun, warm up
the crowd.

Speaker 5 (14:59):
So the live music and the bonfires are all part of a
great little atmosphere, andthat's all included with
admission.

Speaker 1 (15:05):
I know you can rent the bonfires are all part of a
great little atmosphere andthat's all included with
admission.
I know you can rent thebonfires, right?
Yes, you can actually rent abonfire for yourself.

Speaker 5 (15:10):
Yes, you want a private bonfire, if you want to
have your group over there.

Speaker 1 (15:13):
make sure you've got one.
But when the concerts are in,is that a separate ticket or is
that included?
That's included, Cool.

Speaker 5 (15:19):
Yes, and we've got a little pumpkin lights trail that
we started last year and weexpanded it a lot this year.
So it takes the magic ofChristmas lights that everyone
looks forward to walking throughor driving through a lighted
show.
You can walk through ourpumpkin patch and it's all lit

(15:42):
up.
And there's a little singingpumpkin show and it's just
magical and great for photos andpeople are going to definitely
want to go check that out.

Speaker 1 (15:52):
How many pumpkins do you have out there?

Speaker 5 (15:54):
90 tons of pumpkins this year.
90 tons, that's a lot ofpumpkins.

Speaker 2 (15:59):
Holy cow, I remember going when she was tiny out
there to get that, so you've hada pumpkin patch for years.
Yes, I remember going when shewas tiny out there to get that,
so you've had a pumpkin patchfor years.

Speaker 5 (16:08):
Yes, and you know we have a farm in North Carolina
that grows them for us, okay,jefferson County, north Carolina
.
So you bring them in, yes, sothey bring tractor trailer loads
full of pumpkins.
And the reason we do that isbecause we grew them at our farm
for eight years, yep, and whilewe were growing the pumpkins, I
was the one who was alwaysgetting the calls on monday that

(16:30):
someone had taken home apumpkin and it was, you know,
mushy, or they wanted to getanother pumpkin, and you know.
Finally we realized, okay, it'sa little too hot, a little too
humid, there's some disease thatthe pumpkins get in our area.
So we decided that someone elsecould grow them better than we
could.

Speaker 2 (16:45):
Gotcha so you just bring them in.

Speaker 4 (16:47):
Yes, well, the ones we all got were great we had
great experiences with y'all ohgood every year.

Speaker 5 (16:54):
These are really good .
They'll last.
We've got some people that jokethat are.
They still have their pumpkinson their front porch and for
easter oh my gosh easterpumpkins.
They go through all theholidays, oh my gosh.
They'll be good pumpkins.
And it's funny because peoplealways say oh well, I want to be
in a pumpkin patch.
Take a picture with the actualvine.
Well, I'll tell you how thatgoes.
People like to go out and seethe pumpkin on the vine through

(17:19):
about October the 1st, and afterthat the risk of frost comes,
and as soon as there's a slight,there's a freeze, then the
entire field turns brown, yes,and then it looks like a scene
out of the Walking Dead.
You don't want a picture inthat?

Speaker 2 (17:36):
No, you don't, all right, so get out there this
weekend.
That's right.

Speaker 1 (17:43):
It's staying warm for a little while longer.
Anyway, I haven't heard of afrost coming anytime soon.

Speaker 2 (17:48):
So how do you bring all those pumpkins in?
Like a semi-truck.

Speaker 5 (17:52):
Tractor trailer loads .
Yes, wow, they've got them inbig boxes and we'll unload them.
We call them our pumpkin angels, which is a bunch of my sons
and teenagers that help outputting them out in the field
where we sell them.
Holy cow, all kinds ofdifferent sizes and varieties.
Probably the best selection ofpumpkins anywhere in South

(18:14):
Carolina.

Speaker 2 (18:15):
Very cool it's really cool.

Speaker 1 (18:17):
All right, you mentioned something too about
first responders.

Speaker 5 (18:21):
Yes, so we always like to celebrate our opening
weekend with showing tribute toour military and first
responders.
So we allow military, activeand retired and our first
responders fire department,police, ems to come in free with
their ID this weekend.

Speaker 1 (18:41):
So there you go, Holly.

Speaker 5 (18:42):
There you go.

Speaker 1 (18:43):
The game's not until 7.
You can stop Absolutely.

Speaker 2 (18:45):
Stop there on the way .
Oh wait, the game's not until 7.
You can, absolutely.
Oh wait, you're alreadytailgating 7 in the morning, I
forgot about that, but yeah.
When we visit, we do it on aSunday, do you?
Well, there you go.

Speaker 1 (18:54):
It's all weekend, right, that's right.
You said first weekend, exactly, and Sunday is Clemson Day at
the Maze.
Oh yes, so what does thatexactly mean?

Speaker 5 (19:02):
We will have the tiger mascot there for an hour
taking pictures.
On Sunday afternoon We'll haveTiger Roar which is the acapella
group.

Speaker 2 (19:10):
They're going to be singing.
They're amazing.

Speaker 5 (19:13):
It's so fun to watch them.

Speaker 2 (19:14):
They are amazing.

Speaker 5 (19:15):
Yes, and they will be performing right before the pig
races, so they'll be opening upthe pig races.
It was funny telling thoseyoung men you know about when
you know, rather than being onthe main stage, they were going
to be at the pig races.

Speaker 1 (19:28):
All right, we've made it.

Speaker 2 (19:29):
That's right.
So I assume when we talk aboutpig races, we're going to talk
about pig names again this year.
Oh, my goodness.

Speaker 1 (19:36):
Because, you've got all new pigs right.

Speaker 5 (19:38):
Exactly.
We've got new pigs this is kindof funny, john, about my pigs
so we used to have our own pigsand then we started having
trouble with raising them to bethe exact size I needed.
So then we were getting ourpigs from Clemson and Clemson's
swine farm shut down.
Oh no, I know it really hitsome of us hard.

(19:59):
I'm still getting over it.
I haven't gotten over it.
Actually, the swine farm I'venot gotten over it.
I haven't gotten over itactually.
Swine farm.
I've not gotten over it, butthey're building the vet
facility there, so I get it.
So then Providence Farms herein Anderson.
They raise livestock and sellit at their really cool butcher

(20:21):
shop.
And called Donald Walker up tosee this year about getting my
pigs, and they didn't have anythat were going to be the right
size.
Called Donald Walker up to seethis year about getting my pigs,
and they didn't have any thatwere going to be the right size.

Speaker 3 (20:30):
So I had to go to University of Georgia in.

Speaker 1 (20:30):
Athens from their swine farm.
Oh, that must have been toughfor you to do.

Speaker 5 (20:32):
Oh, my goodness, I did not let them know that I was
a Clemson person.

Speaker 2 (20:38):
Well, you need to talk to me after the show
because we now have pigs.

Speaker 1 (20:43):
You have pigs.
Oh my goodness.

Speaker 2 (20:46):
Speak up little Harold after the show, because
we now have pigs.

Speaker 1 (20:47):
You have, oh my goodness, speak up, little
harold.
Um, no, we don't personallyhave them.

Speaker 2 (20:49):
I thought you had them at your house, okay, the
school, yeah, the school haspigs.
In fact, they have some piglets, that's what I'm saying we
probably have 10 piglets outthere now that are tight.
Well, they're not tiny anymore,they're about this big oh they
would have been perfect.
And then we have some that arethis big, and then we have some
that are this big, and then wehave some that are this big, oh
my goodness.
But we could maybe do apartnership where we could have

(21:09):
them born around the time thatyou need them.
They're very friendly becausethe kids handle them.
That's perfect.

Speaker 4 (21:18):
That's great.

Speaker 2 (21:18):
So we need to work on a partnership here.
Okay, yep, sign me up for nextyear.

Speaker 5 (21:22):
Okay, let's figure that out.
Ship here, okay.
Yep, sign me up for next year.
Okay, let's figure that out.
Our pigs are very happy andthey're very fast, and you know
why they're fast because they'rerunning for oreos.

Speaker 1 (21:33):
So yeah, dang, that took one of the questions off
the board.
That was one of the questionsour kids had and see how you get
the pigs to race.
How do you get them to run ourpigs, pigs like marshmallows.

Speaker 2 (21:44):
See, they're in training already.
They love marshmallows Everyone of them.
Oh yeah, so yeah, we need towork together on that.

Speaker 5 (21:54):
So I don't know if I should spill the beans on the
names of the pigs, but I will ify'all want to Tell us.

Speaker 2 (21:59):
Give us some hints.

Speaker 5 (22:01):
Okay, so I just well, our sports pigs, so you know,
our sports pigs that we usuallyhave, we have to have Dabo
Swiney.

Speaker 2 (22:09):
Sure yes.

Speaker 5 (22:10):
Yeah and new to represent our Clemson Tigers is
Clay Club Snout.
For all those Gamecock fansthat come, we've got to
represent them.
Give a little shout out toCarolina.
We've got Will Muschop, ah Okay.
And of course there's going tobe a ton of Georgia people that

(22:32):
come out to visit Denver Downs.
We have to give them respect.
This pig's name is Piggy Smart.

Speaker 1 (22:39):
Piggy Smart.

Speaker 5 (22:39):
Yeah, mm-hmm, yeah, so then, in fact, also got a
lineup of celebrity pigs.
Okay, oh, all right.
Celebrities, yes so TaylorSqueal, oh, mm-hmm, lionel Messi
.
I'm sorry, lionel.

Speaker 1 (22:57):
Okay, I was like that's his real name, yeah.

Speaker 5 (23:05):
So, lionel, you're like I've got to make sure that
I say that correctly.
You can tell I'm not a bigsoccer person, but I know
everyone in the world knows him,everyone knows him.
Yep, Kim Kardashian.
Perfect this one.
Snoop Hoggy Hogg, you know he'sso popular.

Speaker 2 (23:23):
Right now too, he's very popular, so that's a good
decision.

Speaker 1 (23:26):
Yeah, guys, everywhere.
Oh yeah, More popular now thanwhen he was, you know making all
the music.

Speaker 5 (23:31):
That's right.

Speaker 1 (23:32):
Yeah, I know the Olympics, that just was a big
surprise to a lot of us Himdoing the equestrian stuff.
That was very interesting.

Speaker 5 (23:37):
Yes, I've got to watch that.

Speaker 2 (23:45):
I heard oh it's hysterical, Okay, it's
hysterical Prior to the Olympics.
But then the whole Olympics andputting him and Martha Stewart
in the whole outfit, and thewhole thing was great too.
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (23:52):
Martha Stewart I mean I hope I have that kind of
energy and such.
She's like 80 years old isn'tshe?

Speaker 1 (24:00):
How old is she?
Google, get to it.

Speaker 2 (24:01):
Okay, sorry, all right, I know that is an
interesting combination they puttogether and yeah, it's such a
weird thing, but they've donecooking shows together.

Speaker 1 (24:10):
They've done other stuff.
Wow, she's really cool for herage.
It's like, yeah, martha Stewart, she's cool 83, to be exact 83.

Speaker 2 (24:18):
Oh my goodness 55, 52 52.

Speaker 1 (24:31):
Okay, yeah, all right all right, so yeah, 52 and 83
next year I need to do a cornmaze after then yeah, that would
be interesting

Speaker 2 (24:43):
snoop and martha.

Speaker 1 (24:44):
Yeah, imagine the themes you could get out of that
um, but we have zach on theline, don't we?
We do yeah, we've just rambledthrough the first half hour of
the show already.
Zach is here.
Zach, how are you?
Do you have any pig names forus?

Speaker 6 (25:02):
No, I do not Okay.

Speaker 1 (25:04):
That's okay, john Boone, oh boy, yeah, yeah, yeah.
What did you call for before Icut you off?

Speaker 6 (25:15):
You have me call in every Tuesday because you want
to hear my rambling about howthe braves are going to beat the
phillies every year.

Speaker 1 (25:20):
Well there's.

Speaker 6 (25:20):
They're kind of hanging on by a thread now well,
I understand, but you got tolet little brother win every now
.

Speaker 1 (25:25):
And there we go yeah, yeah, get on to the football.
We can agree on some footballyeah, that's, that's right.

Speaker 6 (25:32):
Hey, uh, clemson's turned it around yeah, they have
that's for sure when they'regoing to play a good team I wish
the georgia that played againstkentucky yeah, what I played
against nc state, would haveplayed against clemson, would
have played against that georgiaand that georgia would have
played against that clemson Imean in football in general,
whether it be college or pro orwhatever.

Speaker 1 (25:52):
Nothing's making sense so far this year.
There's been some crazy thingsgoing on.

Speaker 6 (25:57):
And, to be honest with you, I'm looking forward to
the 12-team playoff how itshakes out.

Speaker 1 (26:01):
Yeah, it's anybody's game.

Speaker 6 (26:04):
Yeah, you know, because I mean you can have a
two-loss team.
Get in.
You know Clemson needs to.
You know I was listening to ashow today and they were talking
about different scenarios forClemson.
You want Louisville to beatNotre Dame this week.
You want Louisville to beundefeated when they play
Clemson.
In other words and to be honestwith you, I hate South Carolina

(26:26):
more than anybody, but you wantSouth Carolina to be undefeated
when they play, because ifClemson beats them, it's better
for Clemson.

Speaker 2 (26:32):
You see what I'm saying.

Speaker 6 (26:33):
I mean, it's just one of those things they're talking
about how big thisGeorgia-Alabama game is.
If you're a Clemson fan, youwant Georgia to blow the brakes
off Alabama because that 34-3loss don't look that bad,
because you can look back andsay oh they're doing this to
everybody.

Speaker 1 (26:48):
And you're right, it makes a big difference because
losing in the first game of theyear it doesn't hurt you near as
much now as it used to.

Speaker 6 (26:55):
Well, you know they were saying today how many teams
is up in front?
I think the first, the top tenis SEC Big Ten teams and see,
with nobody having divisionsthis year, not everybody's going
to play everybody.
I mean South Carolina's notplaying Tennessee.
Florida or Georgia this yearClemson will not play NC State

(27:16):
again until 2027.
Wow, realizing and I didn'tknow that until I seen Dabo's
the thing after Dabo's pressconference after the game
Saturday.
So college football is crazynow the NIL transfer portal
stuff but it's really gettingkind of fun because of no
divisions.
That's the way it should havealways been, because you could

(27:37):
have potentially seen back whenClemson-Farter State was both
relevant at the same time.
You could have seen them playtwice in one year instead of
having divisions.

Speaker 1 (27:46):
Yeah, a lot of those ACC championships were not
entertaining games.

Speaker 6 (27:50):
Right.

Speaker 1 (27:51):
And other teams were left out.

Speaker 6 (27:52):
that would have been not entertaining games, right,
and the other teams were leftout.
That would have been.
You know, I used to be thatClemson fan that said, you know,
we used to watch Clemson forlike two or three years during
the Deshaun, especially theTrevor Lawrence era.
Like you played Saturday, whereit was like that week after
week, no matter who you played.
You know, even if you playedlike in Alabama in 2019, when

(28:17):
they blew Alabama, I didn't seethat coming, Not against an
Alabama team, like that.
Two 15-0 teams, you know, andthey beat them 44-16.
And it's just amazing how muchcollege football has changed.
Personally, I don't have aproblem with the portal.
What I have a problem with isthe NIL stuff, and what I've got
a problem with is, like DJ,nothing against.
DJ but how you can transfer fromschool to school.

(28:40):
If you transfer one time, youshould have to stay there or sit
out a year.
You can just transfer wherever.
I mean he comes to Clemson fromCalifornia, then he goes all
the way to Oregon State.
Now he's even further intallahassee, florida.
Yeah, so it's just, it's great.
But I'm looking at loyalty, I'mlooking forward to the 12th and

(29:01):
evidently he has a way ofpersuading people to keep making
him a starting quarterback too.

Speaker 1 (29:07):
I don't know how he's doing that, and it's kind of
like in the pros you see someguys making all this big time
money and they never perform.
This guy hasn't really provenanything anywhere.

Speaker 6 (29:16):
Well, like Trevor Lawrence last night, I mean what
has happened to him.
Is it the offensive line?
Is it the weapons he has?

Speaker 1 (29:24):
Is it $200 million?

Speaker 6 (29:27):
Yeah, has the money run to his head.
I mean, if you get hurt you'restill making that money.
Guy was saying today, wassaying the other day at work
about the braves and stuff.
Okay, well, the braves, allthese baseball teams, could care
less if they win or not.
They're millionaires either wayyeah that's the way I think
some of them look at it.
I mean, you want to win, it's abusiness to a lot of players.

Speaker 1 (29:48):
That's why you want those ones that you can tell it
really does mean something,because others, they go out, win
, lose.
They all act the same.
It's just another day at theoffice, you know punch the card
exactly.

Speaker 6 (29:59):
But but yeah, I'm lord willing, I'm going.
I'm going saturday night and uh, I um, I got in touch with
somebody about a parking passfor the game I see the text
message.

Speaker 2 (30:11):
I haven't answered it yet because I gotta find it.

Speaker 6 (30:14):
That person has not texted me back yet and if you
talk to Holly Harrell, will youlet her know that I texted her.

Speaker 1 (30:21):
I'll be sure to do that.
I don't see it very often.
She's not here very much.

Speaker 2 (30:24):
It's literally unread , so I don't forget it.

Speaker 1 (30:27):
So you don't forget it.
Yeah, because I've got to findthe past.
It's unread, so I don't forgetit.

Speaker 2 (30:31):
That's right.
So I gotta find the past.
I'm sure I've got it.

Speaker 5 (30:34):
Now, Holly, you're gonna have a ton more calls this
afternoon about that.

Speaker 6 (30:38):
It's all good.
It's all good.
On a serious note, before I getout of here, I appreciate you
letting me do this.
I look forward to it.
Look forward to it every timewe do it.
I know I get on here most ofthe time and ramble.
I know I get.
You know we go on at each other, but I appreciate you letting
me do this.

(30:58):
I really do, like I said, Ilook forward to it.
You could have chose anybody todo it, but you chose a goofball
like me.
I mean, you know, class of 2013of Wren High School married my
high school sweetheart.
We got two beautiful littlegirls and celebrated our
one-year-old this past Saturday.
She took the class and I'm gladto see where it has come for

(31:20):
you.
I mean, if there's anybody thatdeserves it, it's you.
I mean, you know you haveworked so hard for it.

Speaker 1 (31:26):
She still hasn't opened the text for the parking
pass.
You can pour it on.

Speaker 6 (31:32):
I'm just saying no, I've just no.
I appreciate it when I was inyour class in 2012, how you
wanted this thing to justsucceed.
And now I walk in there.
When we went to open house, meand Tiffany come before Carson
was born, and it may have evenbeen before we got married and
then it was just a wholeturnaround just how the fours
were and now it's even better.

(31:54):
I mean, I haven't been in acouple years, but now it's even
better.
But but everybody needs a johnboone in their life.
That's right your lips toholly's ears and her budget so,
but and two and another thing,speaking of shows, um, this
monday I was on it.
A couple of mond ago, I don'tknow if you remember last year I

(32:15):
had mentioned I was going to beon a YouTube show, kind of
talking sports, we talk.
Uh, clemson, we talk.

Speaker 1 (32:22):
Hey, when those guys, by the way, those guys when
they do that show, would youplease get some better sound?
It sounds like you're far away.
Get the microphones on you.

Speaker 6 (32:36):
Well they are actually they are actually
working on that they are having.
They are what it is.
They got it set up with a cellphone camera and see, that's
what.
See.
I've been kind of telling himkind of about you how you
started out with absolutelynothing and then it just
spiraled into this.
I said now he's got a studio atthe career center.
What he's wanting to do he'swanting to get like a room at
their house where it's just kindof like you had the studios

(32:59):
built, where it's nothing butfor that.
Yeah, that's cool so they do itoff of a cell phone camera and
they try to get the sound thebest they can get it, but I will
mention that to him, but it'scalled JoJo Cool Pick Games or
something like that.
But we've got a Facebook pageand this coming Monday I'll be
back on there with them.
They've got people listening inSouth America.

(33:21):
They've got people listening inBrazil.
He's got a nephew, I think inLouisiana, that sent him a
Tulane pennant, an LSU pennant,so it's very, very fun it's
awesome.
It lasts about 30 minutes.
This coming monday I'll be backon there.
Go give us a follow on youtube.
And it is wonderful.
He done a show the day of thegeorgia tech florida state game

(33:43):
in week zero and he fedeverybody barbecue afterwards.
And it was just everybody'sopinion through the year what
they were going to do and Ithink he wants to do one with
the playoffs come out.
But he he tries so hard.
That's great Him and JordanConstance do a wonderful job.

Speaker 1 (33:59):
All right.

Speaker 6 (33:59):
Please give us a follow and I think you'll enjoy
the show.

Speaker 1 (34:04):
Thanks, zach.

Speaker 6 (34:05):
If you will, if you will, if you talk to Holly
Harrell, if you know who I'mtalking about, let her know that
I sent her that text.
Maybe she'll get.
I don't have the sameconnections anymore, but yeah,
I'll try to go through mychannels.

Speaker 1 (34:21):
Which you would do, which you would do.

Speaker 3 (34:24):
I got you, zach, I got you.

Speaker 1 (34:26):
All right man.

Speaker 6 (34:26):
Hey y'all take care.

Speaker 1 (34:28):
You too.

Speaker 6 (34:28):
I'll talk to you later All right bye.
What a mess.

Speaker 1 (34:32):
What a mess Nice guy.
He's only on here for Holly.
That's the only reason why he'son.
He says all this stuff about me.
He's only on here to see if hecan get some tickets and parking
passes.

Speaker 4 (34:42):
Come on, we didn't even discuss Ren's loss.

Speaker 1 (34:47):
To who?

Speaker 4 (34:48):
To TL Hanna.

Speaker 1 (34:50):
Oh yeah, but that's well.
He didn't even mention rent.
He didn't even bring that up,he was too busy trying to pour
it on and get that parking pass.
We'll have to do that next time.
All right, we're going to takea quick break to catch our
breath here and we'll come backwith more.
With Katherine Garrison, a lotmore we want to ask her about
what's going on at Denver Downsand some other questions that

(35:12):
students had for her.

Speaker 8 (35:15):
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Back on the boone show on mypulse radio with katherine
garrison from denver downs farmwant to remind you of some
upcoming events that we havewith the radio station and such

(37:27):
coming up.
Yeah, this saturday there'll beanother mascot at den Downs
Farm.

Speaker 2 (37:31):
Oh, is Platypus down there.

Speaker 1 (37:34):
Going around.
He was dancing in the pig racesa couple years ago.

Speaker 5 (37:38):
Oh yeah, and the slide.

Speaker 1 (37:40):
And the slide.
Yes, we got some good video ofthat, so he'll be around 10 to 2
will be down there on SaturdayLooking forward to that.
Everybody looks forward to that.
All the kids are always talkingabout Denver Downs.

Speaker 2 (37:54):
They just love going.
It's like a giant playgroundand that they can play at.
A lot of times you go to aplayground and these old kids
can't play.

Speaker 1 (37:59):
Teenagers are everywhere.
October 19th will be at Boo inthe Park in Williamston, October
27th at SC Comic-Con Junior inGreenville and then on November
2nd our first Pickleball Paloozatournament it's out in
Williamston, so we're lookingforward to.

Speaker 2 (38:18):
That's exciting.
Well, and everybody playspickleball down in Williamston.

Speaker 1 (38:24):
I mean that always packed, so so yeah, come out,
get some prizes.
Yeah, we've got the localcommunity has already given us
over $500 worth of prizes togive away, and we haven't even
hit up a lot of people yet.
So I mean they're all into it.
So we're looking forward tohaving some fun.
The proceeds go to.

Speaker 2 (38:44):
I'm glad he also has his Pfizer on.

Speaker 1 (38:46):
He's got that giant paddle out there.
Did you see that?
I don't know you can even swingthat, but it's all to raise
money for their New York trip togo to the Student Media
Conference in March Very cool,so we're looking forward to that
.
The kids are really workinghard to do the events and, yeah,
I've got my fingers crossedPretty nervous, but they're
doing a good job.
Doing a good job so far, that'sright.

(39:08):
So there's a lot more to talkabout with Denver Down downs.
I noticed you have a newstructure down there oh yes so
what is that all about?

Speaker 5 (39:14):
we are always keeping it fresh and coming up with new
things every year, oh yes, sothis year we've talked about
this for many years and wedecided to go for it.
And we've got a paintballgallery.
It's probably the best oneyou've ever seen.
It is a great paintball.
We've got tons of differenttargets for people to hit and at

(39:35):
night there's lights that lightup and it's just going to be.

Speaker 1 (39:38):
So they're not shooting each other, they're
target shooting.

Speaker 5 (39:41):
They're target shooting Very cool, yes, so you
don't have to get in there andget on your protective equipment
and goggles and all that.
So just a little taste ofpaintball.
That's cool, very cool.
Another thing, we and all that,so so just a little taste of
paintball, so in case.

Speaker 1 (39:53):
That's cool, very cool another thing we'll get
platypus involved yes see if hecan shoot shoot some paintballs,
but um okay, what else?
Is there anything new thatwe're missing here?

Speaker 5 (40:04):
and for younger kids.
We got a giant train struckwooden train structure that kids
are going to enjoy climbing on.
And we like that because of thetrain, because I'm not sure if
y'all know that Denver isactually a railroad crossing
community behind our farm.
And that's where the name camefrom Denver, after the railroad

(40:27):
crossing, and our dad, t Ed,when he was a child a long time
ago in the 1930s, he used totake a wagon full of vegetables
and he would sell them to thepeople that were stopping at the
railroad station.

Speaker 1 (40:42):
I was always wondering where that name came
from.

Speaker 5 (40:45):
Denver is a little railroad station.
There used to be a generalstore and post office and all
that down there.
So Denver and then Downs meansRolling Hills.

Speaker 1 (40:52):
That's how we got our name.
Are any of those structuresstill there?

Speaker 5 (40:56):
yes, really the general store and post office
are still there, so you can zoomon by our farm down denver road
and you can go to the littletrain tracks and that's where
that's kind of cool, it's cool,good to know that's where we
have our denver christmas paradeevery year right, yeah.
So people call it our parade,but it's really the community's
parade.
Yeah, very cool.

Speaker 1 (41:16):
All right Now.
You said something about ciderduring the break.
What was that about?

Speaker 5 (41:20):
So, keeping it fresh, we like to add new things, so
we have just and we love cider.
We know that's part of a funpart of fall that people really
enjoy having hot cider, coldcider, apple cider donuts and so
our first two weekends inNovember are going to be our
Cider Fest weekends.
So we'll have vendors, we'llhave all the ciders and we'll

(41:42):
have apple cider donuts andwe'll have apple pie eating
contests.

Speaker 2 (41:47):
So you're going to have hot ciders, and John
mentioned something about helikes cold ciders Do you have
cold cider as well?

Speaker 4 (41:52):
Yes, absolutely Cold cider.
Do you have cold cider as well?

Speaker 5 (41:53):
Yes, absolutely Cold cider, and we'll have hard cider
for people that want to haveenjoyable libations.

Speaker 1 (42:00):
I can be Dee Dee now.
I used to dip those gingersnaps into cider.

Speaker 4 (42:07):
Cider, the hot cider, hot cider.
Yeah, you have those in thefall.

Speaker 2 (42:10):
I didn't think about that.

Speaker 1 (42:11):
Yeah, you know those gingers and molasses, cookies or
whatever they are.

Speaker 2 (42:14):
Apple donuts are great, though, so that's a great
accompaniment to the cider.
Oh yeah, Delicious.

Speaker 1 (42:21):
Okay, let's see.
I'm going to move on to thekids' questions.
I'm trying not to step on theirtoes, but I did want to ask you
just a general question aboutthe agritourism.
Yeah, I did want to ask youjust a general question about
the agritourism.
Yeah, that's obviously become ahuge deal.
A lot of farms are doing it andsome of them just to survive
nowadays.
Yes, what are your intentionswith that?

Speaker 5 (42:44):
That's how we are Our farm is.
You know, when our parentspassed away we divided up the
land and at the time we weredoing general crops and row
crops.
We divided up the land and atthe time we were doing general
crops and row crops and we'dhave 1,000 acres you could do in
cotton or soybeans or wheat andthings like that.
So you can make.
You know, with a large acreageyou can make money on that.

(43:05):
So our farm we've had to adjustover the years as the land's
been divided and so we arekeeping the original farm.
My sisters and I are keepingthe original farm, and so we
found that agritourism is a waythat we're able to sustain
keeping the land, keeping it inagriculture and also
incorporating tourism so that wecan make the farm have a profit
and to keep it.

(43:26):
Keep it going and not not payattention when developers come
up knocking at our door thereyou go, yeah, and there's um.
There's an element of educationwith it as well right,
absolutely yes, and we dothousands of field trips
throughout the fall season.
We're actually sold out thisyear we can't do any more fall
field trips.
We've got every space that wehave for that is filled up.

(43:48):
But we love having school tripscome out.
They learn about the growthcycle of the pumpkins and corn
and they see animals and learnabout different things about the
animals and then, of course,having fun.
So we like to think that yearsago and our mom started giving
tours of our dairy farm back inthe 1960s.
So we've had school groupscoming to our farm for a long

(44:11):
time, school groups coming toour farm for a long time, and we
used to think that a lot ofpeople in South Carolina had
grandparents or cousins that hadfarms that children would go
and visit and make traditions ofvisiting farms.
But it's just not like thattoday.
So people are looking.
They're living more in, youknow, urban areas.
They're looking foropportunities to go out and
visit a farm and get a littletaste of farm life and see where

(44:33):
food and fiber comes from.

Speaker 1 (44:35):
Go ahead.

Speaker 2 (44:35):
Holly, I wonder how much money you bring into the
Anderson area and I say Andersonarea because I'm sure Clemson
and South Georgia and all thatarea because of your farm,
because people want to come andvisit you know, and play and
just hang out.
I wonder how much fiscal datathere's out there.

(45:00):
There's got to be some kind ofdata out there on what you guys
do.

Speaker 5 (45:03):
It'd be interesting to see.
Yes, I know we're involved withVisit Anderson and different
tourism groups around and allthe hotels.
We always communicate withhotels to make sure they know
what we're doing and put theirlistings on our website so
people know where to go whenthey come into town.
We hope that we're having animpact economic development

(45:23):
impact on that area.

Speaker 2 (45:24):
There's got to be, yeah, there has to be, there's
got to be A number of peoplethat come out there.
My goodness, yeah, it's alwayspacked, yes it seems like it's
always packed.

Speaker 5 (45:36):
There's a lot of people that come from Greenville
, anderson, pickens, oconee, butthere are a lot of people we
know that come over from Georgia, all the counties in Georgia
and even North Carolina, theCharlotte area.
People come up from Charlotte,north Carolina and Columbia.
We've got a lot of people fromthe coast that come up.
I'm looking for a littleweekend destination so they'll
come up and maybe not just cometo our farm but make us part of

(45:57):
their whole weekend in themountains.

Speaker 2 (45:59):
Yes, that's what I'm saying, just it's part of it.

Speaker 1 (46:02):
So it always seems like you guys are on the cutting
edge of all this agritourismtoo.
Like you said, always keepingit fresh.
How many conferences and stuffdo you go to during the course
of a year?
I know you do the maze thingand that, how much planning.
What do you see out there?
That, um, like, what's the?
What's the next big trend inagritourism that you're going to

(46:25):
beat everybody to?
Oh interesting, oh yeah, let'ssee it was funny.

Speaker 5 (46:30):
I had a friend tell me not too long ago like, yeah,
y'all should really think aboutgetting into flowers the flower.
You know, tourism is a bigthing right now.
I'm like, yeah, we've beendoing the sunflower festival for
five years now.

Speaker 6 (46:46):
So yeah, we're on trend with that.

Speaker 5 (46:48):
That's working out great.
We love flowers.
So, yeah, we go to our mazeconference, which is farms
across the country that havecorn mazes, and we found that,
like us, a lot of them areturning more into a festival,
not just a corn maize, so theyhave different activities going
on for the whole fall and thenalso having different events

(47:11):
throughout the year too, dealingwith different crops.
So we belong to NAFMA is theNorth American Farm Direct
Marketing Association.
We go to that every year andand tour different farms to get
different ideas.
So I'm always interested invisiting.
Like cideries and vineyards Ilike to possibly do like a small

(47:32):
vineyard.

Speaker 4 (47:33):
We're thinking about doing that that would be kind of
cool.
That's the next big thing.

Speaker 1 (47:38):
Yeah, nice vineyard, that'd be really yeah think of
the possibilities that could gofrom that yeah that's yeah, that
would be so.

Speaker 5 (47:45):
That's one thing we're planning right now, and
also possibly some other wedding, a wedding venue yeah, because
it's beautiful anyways.
So we so.
And then we go to the SouthCarolina Agritourism Association
, which I was fun about.
10 years ago I was in a groupthat the Commissioner of
Agriculture got together tostart that.

(48:06):
So we started off with maybe 15members of the South Carolina
Agritourism Association and nowthere are like 300 different
agritourism businesses in SouthCarolina.

Speaker 2 (48:18):
Holy cow, who would have thought?

Speaker 1 (48:20):
Yeah, and one of our graduates from last year from
our program is going intoagritourism Porter.

Speaker 2 (48:26):
Oh yeah, Do you know?

Speaker 1 (48:27):
Porter, I mean, I think he contacted you for some
things when he was working ongraduating.

Speaker 2 (48:33):
Dynamic young man yeah.

Speaker 5 (48:35):
I think my sister has spoken with him recently.

Speaker 1 (48:37):
I'm not sure he was very involved in FFA and all
that, and yeah, that's what hewants to do and it's pretty cool
.
So quickly the questions fromthe students.

Speaker 5 (48:47):
Oh sure.

Speaker 1 (48:47):
Okay and I'll just go through in no important order.
Do people have people evergotten lost in the corn maze?

Speaker 5 (48:58):
That's a good question.

Speaker 1 (48:59):
Now, they may not this year because it's a little
you know less dense, but yes,people have gotten lost.
How do you get them out?

Speaker 5 (49:06):
So we like to say that at the end of the evening,
if they're a car still in theparking lot.

Speaker 2 (49:14):
We got three out here hello, turn your flashlights on
, we'll come get you we tellthem to follow the light, follow
the light oh my gosh, could youimagine?

Speaker 5 (49:30):
but, seriously, does that happen?
It does, but people eventuallydo find it.
I like to say there areemergency exits on all sides.

Speaker 3 (49:38):
That's right.

Speaker 5 (49:39):
They can't find their way out.

Speaker 1 (49:41):
They find some skeletons a few months later,
oopsie.

Speaker 5 (49:46):
Funny thing that happened last year is a
gentleman was sprayed by a skunkinside the gourmet.

Speaker 2 (49:51):
Oh no.

Speaker 5 (49:52):
No, no, no.
And so one night we werecleaning up on a Saturday night
and somebody brought back a bagof clothes and shoes they had
found in the parking lot andthey're like this is the reeking
of skunk or whatever.
So a few days later I got acall from a gentleman who was
explaining to me that he hadbeen in the farm the weekend

(50:12):
before and he'd gotten sprayedby a skunk.
I said oh yes, we found yourclothes in the parking lot.

Speaker 1 (50:20):
So interesting how he was driving home.
But they found his clothes.
All right, Are you hiring forscarecrows?

Speaker 5 (50:30):
We do our hiring of our corn cops Corn cops, corn,
cops, corn, cops, they're ourstaff that keeps everyone safe
during the season.
So we usually hire in August,so we'll finish our hiring
beginning of September.
So then we get everyone trainedand they're ready to go by the
opening day, you don't have todress up like a scarecrow.

(50:51):
We call them corn cops.

Speaker 1 (50:53):
I love it, that is pretty funny.
It's a little more fun thanjust calling staff or the team
yeah, that's pretty cool, and wesort of answered how do you get
the pigs to race, oreos beingthe answer.
Now how do you get them to runfor it?

Speaker 5 (51:10):
You have to push them along a little bit the first
few times around, and then theyget the idea and they get the
idea and they get the idea.
They know that when they finish, get to the end, they're going
to have cookies, oreos.
That's so funny Trymarshmallows really you need to
try that.
I think that would be a loteasier too than cookies.

Speaker 1 (51:29):
Now you have one of those big giant chairs out there
.

Speaker 5 (51:32):
Yes.

Speaker 1 (51:33):
Did you build it?

Speaker 4 (51:37):
Yes, giant chairs out there.
Yes, did you build it?

Speaker 1 (51:38):
yes, okay, well, I'm not that was a question not me
personally, but uh, I did notbuild it, but your people built
it.

Speaker 5 (51:41):
Okay, my brother-in-law and some of his
friends built it.
Yes, katherine's out there.
Yeah, with a hammer.
I say a lot of.

Speaker 2 (51:48):
I did something about or we we somebody else did it.
Yeah, it's did it.
It's a good delegation there.

Speaker 1 (51:55):
How much hay is in that big hay, whatever you call
that thing.

Speaker 4 (52:00):
That's a good question, the hay house thing.

Speaker 1 (52:02):
Yeah, what do you call that I?

Speaker 4 (52:03):
know, how much it costs and how many dollars it is
.

Speaker 3 (52:08):
I know how many dollars it is.

Speaker 5 (52:09):
It is a lot of hay.

Speaker 1 (52:10):
yes, and what do you call that attraction, the hay
barn or straw barn?

Speaker 5 (52:15):
There we go straw barn, so you don't know for sure
, but that's like hay barn isfull of hay right now, so it's
better quality than hay isbetter quality than straw right
so right now it's hay, so thereare a lot of round bales that we
can feed to animals in the offseason.

Speaker 1 (52:30):
yeah, yeah, all right , you already gave us what the
corn maze is this year.
Do you harvest the corn?

Speaker 5 (52:39):
No, after the end of the season.
It's not in a great state toharvest, okay.

Speaker 1 (52:46):
So then the next question do you use it for
cornbread?

Speaker 5 (52:49):
That wouldn't be.
We love cornbread, we do lovecornbread, we love cornbread, we
do love cornbread.

Speaker 1 (52:56):
And then the last question was about the
sunflowers.
They're interested and that'sin the spring, but how long does
it take for sunflowers to grow?

Speaker 5 (53:06):
There are different varieties between 60 and 90 days
Okay.

Speaker 1 (53:11):
Because they get pretty big.

Speaker 5 (53:14):
So we'll start planting them in April.
So the ones that are 90 daysout, we'll plant those early
April and then 60-day varietieswe'll plant towards the end of
April and hopefully they come up.

Speaker 1 (53:23):
Now, this year you had a good season, right.
That was before the drought,right Exactly.

Speaker 5 (53:27):
Yes, and we do have a lot of irrigation anyway.
Yep.
So this said.
Then, july, as soon as weplanted the corn, um the drought
, it never rained, it startedhitting us yes, all right so to
complement the the sunflowerplanting.

Speaker 2 (53:43):
When do you plant the corn?

Speaker 5 (53:45):
in july, after the sunflowers are cut down, then we
plant the corn gotcha all right.

Speaker 1 (53:53):
Okay, so we're reaching the end of the show and
, catherine, I don't know if wedid this the last time you were
here, but we've gotten in thehabit of getting recommendations
from our guests for ourlisteners, both in entertainment
can be a movie, something thatyou're binge-watching, or
something on TV, a book thatyou're reading, anything like

(54:14):
that, something on TV, a bookthat you're reading, anything
like that.
And for food, whether it be arestaurant that you're visiting
or a recipe that you've tried,or just some dish or something
or other that you can recommend,and we're compiling a giant
book of sorts with all theserecommendations, I just finished
the Perfect Couple on.
Netflix Is that good?
Because I saw that and I waslike I've got to put it on the

(54:35):
list.

Speaker 5 (54:36):
Yes it was good.
I like that.
I think I saw that one.
I just watched it.

Speaker 1 (54:40):
They're at a wedding.
It's just one season.
They're at a wedding andsomebody dies or whatever.

Speaker 5 (54:45):
Is that it?
Yes, it's got Nicole Kidman init.
And who else is?

Speaker 1 (54:49):
in it.
Oh yeah, that guy, I forget hisname, but he doesn't look
anything like he looks in anyother movie.
But I like the actor.

Speaker 5 (54:57):
And I'm reading the Gentleman in Moscow and they
just came out with a movie aboutthat.
But I want to make sure Ifinish the book.
It's in Russia and this guy isconfined to living in a hotel
and it's all about hisexperience there and he's a

(55:18):
writer, so I'm making myselffinish the book before I watch
the movie?

Speaker 1 (55:23):
Okay, all right.
And what about some food item?

Speaker 2 (55:28):
Oh restaurants and we love local.

Speaker 1 (55:30):
Oh, yes, we love local.

Speaker 5 (55:31):
Well, my favorite.
I always hate giving away mylocal places because then it's
going to be crowded, which itwas Sunday.
Well, I've got two, so I'llmention Ruffage.

Speaker 2 (55:41):
Yes, I've heard of that.
I haven't been there.

Speaker 5 (55:43):
So that's right up the road from Denver Downs right
up from the farm that is sogood.
Eric and Jennifer Eric's thechef there and they're just
tremendous.
Every bite you eat is justfantastic.

Speaker 1 (55:53):
Now that sounds like what.
Is that a farm-to-table typething?
It sounds like it.
They have breakfast, breakfastand lunch, breakfast and lunch.
Okay, and they do some dinners.

Speaker 5 (56:00):
They're starting to do more dinners and then so they
were packed on Sunday becauseit was Parents Weekend at
Clemson and it was just packed.

Speaker 1 (56:14):
So we went.

Speaker 5 (56:15):
I could always use some good fried chicken In the
county.

Speaker 2 (56:17):
Wilhelmina's, wilhelmina's, wilhelmina's.

Speaker 5 (56:19):
All right, a couple good recommendations it is
adjacent to a gas station on 187, the Exxon station on 187, just
down from Pendleton High School, before you get to the
interstate.

Speaker 4 (56:34):
All right.

Speaker 5 (56:35):
That's exit 14.

Speaker 1 (56:37):
check it out.
It's the best fried chicken.
It's delicious gonna have totry that I will all right so
there you go, guys.
Uh, katherine, before I let yougo, you've said all the
attractions and everything.
How about a couple highlightsfor people?
We hadn't talked about muchabout the food and drink, but
just very quickly, uh, some ofthe offerings food and drink
wise at at Denver Downs as well,because I know there's some

(56:58):
great stuff.

Speaker 5 (56:59):
Absolutely Everyone loves our kettle corn and we'll
have our funnel cakes and ourfresh-squeezed lemonade everyone
loves.
We'll have barbecue sandwichesand hamburgers and hot dogs and
chicken fingers for little kidsand adults like them too
barbecue nachos.
And then we have our adultbeverage area.
We have a barley and vinelittle beer garden which is our

(57:20):
silo bar.

Speaker 1 (57:21):
Nice.

Speaker 5 (57:22):
And, of course, shaved ice.
For these weekends it's goingto be hot.

Speaker 1 (57:25):
Yeah.

Speaker 5 (57:26):
And pumpkin pie.
Oh, that's right.
You come out to the farm.

Speaker 1 (57:30):
Is that homemade stuff?

Speaker 5 (57:31):
That is stuff.
I wish I were up making it, butI'm not.
I thought well, you know, youdo everything.

Speaker 1 (57:37):
According to you, it's just.
Yeah, I do that.

Speaker 5 (57:40):
No, I'm just kidding, we like getting a lot of stuff
from the Sweeterie.
They do a great job.
Oh, the Sweeterie yesabsolutely.

Speaker 1 (57:48):
We agree with that.

Speaker 2 (57:48):
Their strawberry cake is amazing.
That's what we get Holly for.
It's excellent.

Speaker 1 (57:51):
All right, you have anything to add?
Over there, puggles, you'vebeen sitting there quietly the
whole time and I know you loveDenver Downs.

Speaker 4 (57:58):
I do so.

Speaker 1 (57:59):
I'm going to recommend one thing at.

Speaker 4 (58:02):
Denver Downs.
It would be that big old yellowthing that you jump on.
Oh, the pillow.
Jumping pillow, that's myfavorite thing ever and your big
, huge slide.
Also, when is your haunted mazeopen?

Speaker 5 (58:16):
so we're not doing the haunt but we're open at
night so people can do the themaze at night.
And we got our little so we'vemoved away from the haunt and so
we're doing the.
Um, we're doing a little lightshow like a lighted trail, okay,
so that's next to the pumpkinpatch.
That um, it's like a littlemagical light show.
Yeah, okay, a little more kidfriendly, that's right, I've
pumpkin patch that is like alittle magical light show.

Speaker 1 (58:36):
Yeah, okay, a little more kid-friendly.

Speaker 4 (58:37):
That's right, I've just been opening up to more
scarier things.
I went to Mad World lastweekend, but now I have the
courage to do it.
But now it's not there.

Speaker 1 (58:44):
Oh, oh well.
Oh well, that's all right, I'llstill come.

Speaker 5 (58:46):
You get to live with your mom and dad that at night
we've got the bonfires and livemusic too.

Speaker 1 (58:57):
it's fun for teenagers and Holly, that's a
good date night idea too.
It is absolutely.
That sounds like a real gooddate night idea it's very
romantic and not far from yourhouse, john.

Speaker 2 (59:08):
It isn't that far.

Speaker 4 (59:09):
I'm down at Fairplay 15 minutes I can be there.

Speaker 5 (59:12):
Come on out.
Well, catherine, thank you somuch for coming.
It's always great to see youplay.
But yeah, 15 minutes I can bethat's really close.

Speaker 1 (59:15):
Yeah, yeah, all right , come on out.
Well, catherine, thank you somuch for coming.
It's always great to see yougreat to see you always got a
big smile on her face it's justhaving to be around.
I know she gets stressed becausethis is a big job, but you do a
great job with it and, uh,we're glad to to have a little
piece of it this weekend.
Uh, we're taking everybody downthere on saturday from 10 2.
So if you see the big platypuswandering around, it's not a

(59:38):
beaver, it's not a duck, it's aplatypus.
So say hi to him, or her.

Speaker 5 (59:44):
We're proud of what y'all are doing, and we
appreciate that.

Speaker 1 (59:48):
And yeah, that'll about wrap it up.
I always tell the kids don't doyeah, because that's a terrible
way to wrap things up on theirshows.
Well, yeah, that means you justran out of things to say, but
we are done with things to sayand we've had a great time with
you.
Catch the podcast.
We're going to try to get thisup right away so people can
listen to it before the openingweekend.
So look for that on Spotify andwherever you get your podcasts.

(01:00:11):
And thanks again for listeningto the Boone Show on MyPulse
Radio.