I have spent an inordinate amount of time researching communities that celebrate livermush. The consensus from Google is that Marion and Shelby in North Carolina are the only two, for they are what appears when the search parameter is, “What communities celebrate livermush?”
In fact, Google narrowed it down rather quickly, noting that “livermush is a Southern dish made from pork liver, cornmeal, and spices. It’s commonly eaten for breakfast and lunch in Western North Carolina.”
I find that recipe faulty, for it includes none of the snouts and ears, and natives know real livermush involves those delicacies. After all, livermush is traditionally a poor person’s meat.
(You know they’re serious when there is a state law mandating that all livermush commercially produced must be made with at least 30 percent pig liver.)
Livermush became popular in factory towns because it could be packed for lunch. It was very popular during the Depression.
I grew up in the 60s in east Buncombe County—the county of Asheville—and I ate livermush in sandwiches as a child.
We’re on the micro level when Google’s AI just right out says no one likes livermush more than the people of Western North Carolina.
Which brings me to an idea for fun on June 7.
Head over to Marion, which is just off Interstate 40 between Asheville and Hickory, for the 17th Annual Marion Livermush Festival on June 7.
You’re bound to enjoy the day, and you (or your kids/grandkids) get the opportunity to attend and consider taking part in the Hog Callin’ Contest.
Freddie Killough, executive director of Marion Business Association, cites personal experience calling hogs.
“Yes, I will admit it freely,” she said. “My father raised hogs. They are smart animals.”
She said a good hog call is a shrill, high-pitched yodel. “It’s something unique to the mountains,” she said.
“It’s almost sing-song,” she said, and the best pig callers stretch the call out.
Men and women call pigs equally well, “and children do it very well,” she said.
Friends and neighbors can compete at the festival for a prize for best hog calling and best oink. Visitors and out-of-towners are welcome to take the stage to offer their best hog call.
Attendees also get to sample livermush and can vote on the best livermush of the festival.
Over 80 craft vendors will offer local art. There will be live music and kids activities, including a petting zoo.
However, the highlight of the festival is the competition for best hog call.
The festival will be held on Main Street in downtown Marion, from 5-9 p.m.
You can get a map of festivities at marionlivermushfestival.com.
—Jonathan Austin
We’re Sorry, Ralph!
Ralph Mayer, of Saluda, North Carolina, provided all the photographs for the February/March 2025 article titled “On a New Track in Saluda.”
I forgot to give him credit in the printed edition.
Nada.
Zip.
Not a word about his help.
Thank you, Ralph, for kindly sharing your images of Saluda, and for being a dedicated reader. We appreciate you, and we appreciate all of our subscribers!