UNICOI, Tenn. (WJHL)- People from all over flock to Unicoi for amazing food, musical entertainment and community fellowship at the Wayne Scott Strawberry Festival.
“We get thousands of visitors every year for this event. It brings in revenue with the agriculture- just kind of surrounding businesses, into Erwin and stuff,” said Laura Rogers, the Communications and Events Director for the Town of Unicoi. “It is a one-day festival so it’s all day long, people come and they spend the day here.”
Festival organizers hope to increase participation in the Recipe Contest this year.
“It’s just any kind of recipe that has strawberries in it. We just really want to focus on that ingredient in the recipe,” Rogers said. “You’ll make your dish and bring it to the festival and we’ll have judges for it.”
The festival is named after Wayne Scott who started Scott’s Farms in 1958 with his wife, Mary Lou.
While Wayne Scott taught school and Mary Lou Scott raised the family and tended the crop in Unicoi County. Strawberries and tomatoes are their signature crops.
When the signature white-washed stands pop up across the region, people stand in line to get their hands on Scott’s Farm’s strawberries.
Today, Steve Scott carries on the family tradition and remembers words of wisdom from his father as the family celebrates 65 years of business.
“He always wanted to put the best that we could out there. He always said you can sell people junk once but you can’t sell it to them twice,” he recalled. “We try to uphold it and try to stay true to it.”
This year’s Wayne Scott Strawberry Festival happens Saturday, May 20 from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. at Unicoi Elementary School.
