The Boone Show
The Boone Show
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!
Hey everybody, welcome to the Boone Show on MyPulse Radio. We are glad to be with you. A lot going on in the fall months. Love the fall, my favorite season of the year, I think it's mine too. It's just everything that goes on is cool. I mean the weather changes and you get that little the smell in the air Football.
Speaker 4:Football.
Speaker 1:And bonfires and Denver Downs. Corn mazes and All that stuff, and all those wonderful things. Yeah, and my birthday.
Speaker 2:And mine too.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's right, although I'm not looking forward to mine this year. Yeah, she's got a big one, Catherine.
Speaker 2:I do. They've got to celebrate. Yes, yes, yeah.
Speaker 1:Catherine Garrison is with us from Denver Downs. She hasn't been here in a couple of years.
Speaker 2:Holly, she's always entertaining.
Speaker 1:Yeah, she's just an entertainer They've always got so much going on, it's fine. Well, thank you all so much for having me today, and it's a pleasure being with you all and talking about all the fun stuff we've got coming up in the next few weeks. Well, first, the main question is are you going to tell us what the corn maze is.
Speaker 5:Oh yes, so we are announcing our design. It is God Bless America.
Speaker 1:Oh, nice Election year and all that. We need that too.
Speaker 5:Patriotic theme, so we've got an American flag and the Statue of Liberty torch and an eagle are all in the design.
Speaker 2:I want to know that as we get into this. I want to know the process, to figure out who is the final decision, or do you have a group of people that make decisions like you know what? What's that? Because that's a big part of denver downs.
Speaker 5:It is what's? Uh, we like to sit around the kitchen table and talk about it a lot. It's a big topic of conversation starting, um, as soon as this year's over, we'll start talking about next year.
Speaker 5:Yes, so we belong to an association of corn mazes across the country and sometimes they'll bring up ideas that they've been approached with. So this year it was an option we could have. Well, last year we did Reba McIntyre and that was something that Reba's people had. Approached our ma maze corporate company or convention group of farmers and asked if anyone wanted to do Reba Maze then they were welcome to do that. So that was fun being part of that this year. This year they came up with Luke Bryan.
Speaker 1:I noticed that there's a few places like around the state that are doing Luke Bryan.
Speaker 5:I know some farms that are doing that, one and another one is Peanuts. Oh, that's always good, like the comic. Yes, charles.
Speaker 2:Schultz yeah.
Speaker 5:They're celebrating an anniversary with that cartoon. So we did that. A few years ago we did the Great Pumpkin, charlie Brown. That was a fun theme. But this year we decided, since it was election year, to do something positive about the election and just say you know, god bless America. Very cool, but unfortunately the corn has not done well this year.
Speaker 5:So, we've been a victim of the drought. Our corn has been a victim of the drought. Oh, no, Specifically not just us, but we've had. Despite a lot of irrigation and just trying to keep everything watered, the corn is not as high as it normally is and not as thick as it usually is. So we just want to make sure folks know about that before they head out to the farm.
Speaker 5:But we've got all the other incredible things around the farm that people are still going to have fun with All the activities and our flowers have done really well. We've got gorgeous sunflowers and pick-your-own bouquet flowers and 2,500 mums that we're selling.
Speaker 2:Holy cow, just 2,500.
Speaker 1:Those things are usually huge too right.
Speaker 5:Exactly, they're jumbo mums.
Speaker 1: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 on the titling part of the show. But Holly is here, the boss here at ACTC and the esteemed co-host, and then the next generation of Harold over there, which we weren't even expecting, and she just bopped right in here. Madeline's here, so welcome. I had no clue that the show in here. Madeline's here, welcome.
Speaker 4:I had no clue that the show was today. Oh, it's usually Tuesday at 4 o'clock.
Speaker 1:So your mom's trying to keep you from being?
Speaker 4:on. It looks like it. Oh man, we'll have to have a talk about that. She really doesn't want me to take her class, really. She's really cheering me on.
Speaker 1:I've given up on that You're going to talk to katherine about all things going on at the farm, as it's really kind of becoming a year-round attraction. It's getting there, it seems. Uh, so we'll talk about that and uh, we had some students uh come up with some questions today oh, I love the students questions about the, about the farm.
Speaker 1:So they are. They are interesting. Uh, we'll get to that and of course, zach will be along. Speaking of interesting, we haven't talked to him in a few weeks about, uh, football and of course clemson has found its offense and uh, yeah, big time and hopefully they can. They can keep it up. Who we play this week? Stanford? Oh well, they're not that good then.
Speaker 2:Well, they lost now I was surprised they lost. This past week they have been winning.
Speaker 5:Stanford has been winning. Is this a home game or a road game? This is homecoming.
Speaker 1:Because, that's a long trip if you've got to go out there.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's homecoming, that's right.
Speaker 1:The, the new, what do you call it? Conferences? Yes, these colleges are flying all over the country.
Speaker 5:I saw one of the most unusual things I'd ever seen with Stanford when Stanford and Clemson played in Orlando. I believe that was a Citrus Bowl many years ago. Y'all remember this, but this is one of the craziest things I'd ever seen. They were marching down the main street in Orlando One of the craziest things I'd ever seen. They were marching down the main street in Orlando and one of the Stanford band members had a mouse on their shoulder A live mouse, a live mouse on their shoulder while they were marching in the parade and they would stop and the mouse would move around a little bit.
Speaker 2:Is that part of the band or is that part of that?
Speaker 5:student, that student, that particular student. So I thought stanford has a reputation.
Speaker 1:Their band has a reputation for being pretty crazy oh, I didn't know that, yeah that just verified.
Speaker 5:They do some crazy things uh, they've been.
Speaker 1: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 their band itself is just crazy. The people get in there and they have a reputation of just going out having a lot of fun. I did not know that. Not necessarily bad things, but occasionally some controversial things in the eyes of others.
Speaker 2:Well, there's where the mouse comes in, but a mouse would be pretty tame, it seems.
Speaker 1:I've got some chickens and some goats and pigs I could bring up for the game.
Speaker 2:What can you put them on? Bring the whole petting zoo?
Speaker 1:yes, it would add some excitement to it. What time is the game this week? Seven, seven.
Speaker 2:We've had some early games going on, yeah so oh, last week was miserable did you go? Last week.
Speaker 5:it was hot, wasn't it? We were in that field. It was really hot, it was so miserable. I mean super miserable, yeah it should be if it's not raining.
Speaker 1:So we'll talk more about that, with Zach coming up and his thoughts on how Clemson'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 supposed to rain buckets well, but clear before the weekend.
Speaker 5:So that's right. How does? It drain out there at denver dance well I'm telling you, we have had such a drought that that rain is going to soak right into the ground and saturday morning no one is going to be able to tell that it rained a drop all right, that's good to hear right now the field looks beautiful and we've got everything m mowed and all the flowers and things edged and just all the tractors are in place and the field looks absolutely gorgeous. So we're going to be ready.
Speaker 1:If it gets wet right now, it'll be fine by Saturday morning, yeah what they're saying now is really from Thursday afternoon to Friday afternoon and then clearing out that's what I've heard too, so it should be a beautiful weekend, so hopefully I'll have a chance, but Friday's going to be nasty. Miserable Is it yes.
Speaker 2:And very windy.
Speaker 4:E-learning day, and that's what affects schools is the wind.
Speaker 5:You've already decided that.
Speaker 1:No no, no, no, no, no. I just throw those things out there to get. Holly off kilter, let me just say this Absolutely not.
Speaker 2:There is not call made. We have to talk with emergency management. No, don't get all that started, Mr Bain. No, no, no.
Speaker 1:There is discussion. The kids are already talking about it, that's for sure. Okay, teachers are planning on it. Oh yeah, teachers are planning on it. I never plan on it.
Speaker 2: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 be that bad, it's what about 30 miles an hour or something like that? Yeah, I think once it hits that wind gusts of 40 miles an hour, then it can't.
Speaker 1:Which they're saying it could be, so we'll see oh wow. Okay, we need the rain, that's for sure. Yeah, okay, so enough small talk, let's actually get on to what we wanted it's 23.
Speaker 5:you think it's 23.
Speaker 1:yes, and denver down's farm. I looked it up celebrating what 155 years, I believe this year.
Speaker 5:That's right.
Speaker 1:Yes, 155 years now. That's a long time to keep something in the family right yes, that's, our great-grandfather bought it after the civil war.
Speaker 5:he came back from the civil war or the war between the states, um, and he had one dollar in his pocket. So he went to work for a local cotton mill and back then a lot of cotton mills had their own farms. So he was a farm manager for several years and saved up money and he bought his own farm Right there at the same location yes, 200 acres. There was just a little dirt road called Old General's Road.
Speaker 1:Plumps in.
Speaker 5:Boulevard.
Speaker 2:Now it's a little bit bigger than a dirt road now. So do you still have all 200 acres? Um, yes, so none of it's ever been sold?
Speaker 5:no, that is incredible 155 years yes and it was a dairy farm right yes, so over the years we had expanded and um then, um, our parents have passed away and so we divided up the land and my sister and I've kept the original farmstead, the original land.
Speaker 2:We still have right there, wow, farms and we're, you know, we're partners with agritourism business that's right, so we're still working together and keeping it in the family and do you think your children I mean, I know, they're still young like both you and your sister are have young children?
Speaker 5:yes, well, my sister Lee, her children are in their 20s, my nephew Garrison, he's in commercial real estate here in. Anderson and my niece is in HR with a real estate company in Charlotte and they both love being involved with it, so I think they'll be coming back, and my boys are in middle school and high school right now, so they work there on the weekends.
Speaker 2:They do. Well, that's good. Yes, so you think maybe they'll stay in the family and continue this tradition? I hope so.
Speaker 5: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: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:Back then it was just a corn maze, so I got involved with a corn maze and I would drive back and forth from Charleston every weekend, so it was a lot of traveling for me, but then I moved back here full time in 2019. And so I'm right there at the farm. So, yeah, that's one reason we've expanded what we're doing. You know that we're having more events throughout the year. Our Easter egg hunt has turned more into multiple weekends during the spring and we added a sunflower festival, so it takes a lot of people to working together to make it all happen.
Speaker 1:We're skipping ahead a little bit. But since we're talking about that, are there plans for any other events to spread out the time that you're not covering so far?
Speaker 5:We'd like to, we'd really like to do something for Christmas, but right now we always say that we're just exhausted after the fall, after the fall festival?
Speaker 2:yeah, so is there times that the farm is closed?
Speaker 5: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 or large church groups may want to get together or like for weddings or parties. We'll have people out at the farm for special events. But when we're open to the public, it's just for our festivals, just for the festivals.
Speaker 2:Okay, Because it seems like there's always something happening at your facility. Somewhere on your property there's something happening, Well sure enough if one thing ends. They're already starting to promote the next thing that could be it they may be closed for a while, but they're promoting what's coming up next.
Speaker 1:So yeah, they're always in the news that Denver Islands See those billboards everywhere.
Speaker 5:Good, yeah, good choice on the billboards, oh thanks.
Speaker 1:Because I always see them All right. So this year's festival what can we look forward to? What are some new attractions? What's going on with this year's festival?
Speaker 5:Okay, well, to kick off, so each weekend of the fall festival we have kind of a specific theme. So in October the themes are all about the pumpkins. So here at the end of September it's our flower festival weekend. So we'll be really talking a lot about our beautiful mums. So the mums we plant back in June and they are ready to go ready for people's front porches about this time. So people will be coming out to the farm to get their moms and we'll have tons of flowers that people can do you pick. We've got big vases or buckets that they can fill up with flowers to take home. And then, of course, the live music and bonfires. They'll be going on this weekend. We've got a great lineup of musicians for the whole fall and that's on our website. So mostly it's Friday nights, saturday afternoon, saturday evening and then Sunday afternoon.
Speaker 1:And a different, various genres, variety of music.
Speaker 5:Yes, a lot of focus on Southern rock country. This year we are adding in October we're having our first Christian music band, jason Crabb Right.
Speaker 1:From the Crabb family.
Speaker 5:back in the day they were a big-time Christian music band, oh yeah, and he's got a great song called Good Morning Mercy. I know we hear that on Christian radio a lot, but it's just a great inspiration. He's a great inspirational story and we had kind of met him through some different things and next thing you know he's coming out to perform at the farm. Great, we haven't had a two-time Grammy Award winner in a while.
Speaker 1:That's awesome. What date is that?
Speaker 5:That's October, the 27th Sunday afternoon All right. And he has a comedian that's with him, named Mickey Bell. Some people know that comedian.
Speaker 1:I don't know him, but hey, it's always fun, warm up the crowd.
Speaker 5:So the live music and the bonfires are all part of a great little atmosphere, and that's all included with admission.
Speaker 1:I know you can rent the bonfires are all part of a great little atmosphere and that's all included with admission. I know you can rent the bonfires, right? Yes, you can actually rent a bonfire for yourself.
Speaker 5:Yes, you want a private bonfire, if you want to have your group over there.
Speaker 1: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:Yes, and we've got a little pumpkin lights trail that we started last year and we expanded it a lot this year. So it takes the magic of Christmas lights that everyone looks forward to walking through or driving through a lighted show. You can walk through our pumpkin patch and it's all lit up. And there's a little singing pumpkin show and it's just magical and great for photos and people are going to definitely want to go check that out.
Speaker 1:How many pumpkins do you have out there?
Speaker 5:90 tons of pumpkins this year. 90 tons, that's a lot of pumpkins.
Speaker 2:Holy cow, I remember going when she was tiny out there to get that, so you've had a pumpkin patch for years. Yes, I remember going when she was tiny out there to get that, so you've had a pumpkin patch for years.
Speaker 5: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, so they bring tractor trailer loads full of pumpkins. And the reason we do that is because we grew them at our farm for eight years, yep, and while we were growing the pumpkins, I was the one who was always getting the calls on monday that someone had taken home a pumpkin and it was, you know, mushy, or they wanted to get another pumpkin, and you know. Finally we realized, okay, it's a little too hot, a little too humid, there's some disease that the pumpkins get in our area. So we decided that someone else could grow them better than we could.
Speaker 2:Gotcha so you just bring them in.
Speaker 4:Yes, well, the ones we all got were great we had great experiences with y'all oh good every year.
Speaker 5:These are really good. They'll last. We've got some people that joke that are. They still have their pumpkins on their front porch and for easter oh my gosh easter pumpkins. They go through all the holidays, oh my gosh.
Speaker 5:They'll be good pumpkins. And it's funny because people always say oh well, I want to be in a pumpkin patch. Take a picture with the actual vine. Well, I'll tell you how that goes. People like to go out and see the pumpkin on the vine through about October the 1st, and after that 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 in that?
Speaker 2:No, you don't, all right, so get out there this weekend. That's right.
Speaker 1:It's staying warm for a little while longer. Anyway, I haven't heard of a frost coming anytime soon.
Speaker 2:So how do you bring all those pumpkins in? Like a semi-truck.
Speaker 5:Tractor trailer loads. Yes, wow, they've got them in big boxes and we'll unload them. We call them our pumpkin angels, which is a bunch of my sons and teenagers that help out putting them out in the field where we sell them. Holy cow, all kinds of different sizes and varieties. Probably the best selection of pumpkins anywhere in South Carolina.
Speaker 2:Very cool it's really cool.
Speaker 1:All right, you mentioned something too about first responders.
Speaker 5:Yes, so we always like to celebrate our opening weekend with showing tribute to our military and first responders. So we allow military, active and retired and our first responders fire department, police, ems to come in free with their ID this weekend.
Speaker 1:So there you go, Holly.
Speaker 5:There you go.
Speaker 1:The game's not until 7. You can stop Absolutely.
Speaker 2:Stop there on the way. Oh wait, the game's not until 7. You can, absolutely. Oh wait, you're already tailgating 7 in the morning, I forgot about that, but yeah. When we visit, we do it on a Sunday, do you? Well, there you go.
Speaker 1: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 that exactly mean?
Speaker 5:We will have the tiger mascot there for an hour taking pictures. On Sunday afternoon We'll have Tiger Roar which is the acapella group.
Speaker 2:They're going to be singing. They're amazing.
Speaker 5:It's so fun to watch them.
Speaker 2:They are amazing.
Speaker 5:Yes, and they will be performing right before the pig races, so they'll be opening up the pig races. It was funny telling those young men you know about when you know, rather than being on the main stage, they were going to be at the pig races.
Speaker 1:All right, we've made it.
Speaker 2:That's right. So I assume when we talk about pig races, we're going to talk about pig names again this year. Oh, my goodness.
Speaker 1:Because, you've got all new pigs right.
Speaker 5:Exactly. We've got new pigs this is kind of funny, john, about my pigs so we used to have our own pigs and then we started having trouble with raising them to be the exact size I needed. So then we were getting our pigs from Clemson and Clemson's swine farm shut down. Oh no, I know it really hit some of us hard. I'm still getting over it. I haven't gotten over it. Actually, the swine farm I've not gotten over it. I haven't gotten over it actually. Swine farm.
Speaker 5:I've not gotten over it, but they're building the vet facility there, so I get it. So then Providence Farms here in Anderson. They raise livestock and sell it at their really cool butcher shop. And called Donald Walker up to see this year about getting my pigs, and they didn't have any that were going to be the right size. Called Donald Walker up to see this year about getting my pigs, and they didn't have any that were going to be the right size.
Speaker 3:So I had to go to University of Georgia in.
Speaker 1:Athens from their swine farm. Oh, that must have been tough for you to do.
Speaker 5:Oh, my goodness, I did not let them know that I was a Clemson person.
Speaker 2:Well, you need to talk to me after the show because we now have pigs.
Speaker 1:You have pigs. Oh my goodness.
Speaker 2:Speak up little Harold after the show, because we now have pigs.
Speaker 1:You have, oh my goodness, speak up, little harold. Um, no, we don't personally have them.
Speaker 2:I thought you had them at your house, okay, the school, yeah, the school has pigs. In fact, they have some piglets, that's what I'm saying we probably have 10 piglets out there 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 are this big, and then we have some that are this big, and then we have some that are this big, oh my goodness. But we could maybe do a partnership where we could have them born around the time that you need them.
Speaker 2:They're very friendly because the kids handle them. That's perfect.
Speaker 4:That's great.
Speaker 2:So we need to work on a partnership here. Okay, yep, sign me up for next year.
Speaker 5: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 and they're very fast, and you know why they're fast because they're running for oreos.
Speaker 1:So yeah, dang, that took one of the questions off the board. That was one of the questions our kids had and see how you get the pigs to race. How do you get them to run our pigs, pigs like marshmallows.
Speaker 2:See, they're in training already. They love marshmallows Every one of them. Oh yeah, so yeah, we need to work together on that.
Speaker 5:So I don't know if I should spill the beans on the names of the pigs, but I will if y'all want to Tell us.
Speaker 2:Give us some hints.
Speaker 5:Okay, so I just well, our sports pigs, so you know, our sports pigs that we usually have, we have to have Dabo Swiney.
Speaker 2:Sure yes.
Speaker 5:Yeah and new to represent our Clemson Tigers is Clay Club Snout. For all those Gamecock fans that come, we've got to represent them. Give a little shout out to Carolina. We've got Will Muschop, ah Okay. And of course there's going to be a ton of Georgia people that come out to visit Denver Downs. We have to give them respect. This pig's name is Piggy Smart.
Speaker 1:Piggy Smart.
Speaker 5:Yeah, mm-hmm, yeah, so then, in fact, also got a lineup of celebrity pigs. Okay, oh, all right. Celebrities, yes so Taylor Squeal, oh, mm-hmm, lionel Messi. I'm sorry, lionel.
Speaker 1:Okay, I was like that's his real name, yeah.
Speaker 5:So, lionel, you're like I've got to make sure that I say that correctly. You can tell I'm not a big soccer 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's so popular.
Speaker 2:Right now too, he's very popular, so that's a good decision.
Speaker 1:Yeah, guys, everywhere. Oh yeah, More popular now than when he was, you know making all the music.
Speaker 5:That's right.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I know the Olympics, that just was a big surprise to a lot of us Him doing the equestrian stuff. That was very interesting.
Speaker 5:Yes, I've got to watch that.
Speaker 2:I heard oh it's hysterical, Okay, it's hysterical Prior to the Olympics. But then the whole Olympics and putting him and Martha Stewart in the whole outfit, and the whole thing was great too. Yeah.
Speaker 4:Martha Stewart I mean I hope I have that kind of energy and such. She's like 80 years old isn't she?
Speaker 1:How old is she? Google, get to it.
Speaker 2:Okay, sorry, all right, I know that is an interesting combination they put together and yeah, it's such a weird thing, but they've done cooking shows together.
Speaker 1:They've done other stuff. Wow, she's really cool for her age. It's like, yeah, martha Stewart, she's cool 83, to be exact 83.
Speaker 2:Oh my goodness 55, 52 52.
Speaker 1:Okay, yeah, all right all right, so yeah, 52 and 83 next year I need to do a corn maze after then yeah, that would be interesting
Speaker 2:snoop and martha.
Speaker 1:Yeah, imagine the themes you could get out of that um, but we have zach on the line, don't we? We do yeah, we've just rambled through the first half hour of the show already. Zach is here. Zach, how are you? Do you have any pig names for us?
Speaker 6:No, I do not Okay.
Speaker 1:That's okay, john Boone, oh boy, yeah, yeah, yeah. What did you call for before I cut you off?
Speaker 6:You have me call in every Tuesday because you want to hear my rambling about how the braves are going to beat the phillies every year.
Speaker 1:Well there's.
Speaker 6:They're kind of hanging on by a thread now well, I understand, but you got to let little brother win every now.
Speaker 1:And there we go yeah, yeah, get on to the football. We can agree on some football yeah, that's, that's right.
Speaker 6:Hey, uh, clemson's turned it around yeah, they have that's for sure when they're going to play a good team I wish the georgia that played against kentucky yeah, what I played against nc state, would have played against clemson, would have played against that georgia and that georgia would have played against that clemson I mean in football in general, whether it be college or pro or whatever.
Speaker 1:Nothing's making sense so far this year. There's been some crazy things going on.
Speaker 6:And, to be honest with you, I'm looking forward to the 12-team playoff how it shakes out.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's anybody's game.
Speaker 6: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 a show today and they were talking about different scenarios for Clemson. You want Louisville to beat Notre Dame this week. You want Louisville to be undefeated when they play Clemson. In other words and to be honest with you, I hate South Carolina more than anybody, but you want South Carolina to be undefeated when they play, because if Clemson beats them, it's better for Clemson.
Speaker 2:You see what I'm saying.
Speaker 6:I mean, it's just one of those things they're talking about how big this Georgia-Alabama game is. If you're a Clemson fan, you want Georgia to blow the brakes off Alabama because that 34-3 loss don't look that bad, because you can look back and say oh they're doing this to everybody.
Speaker 1:And you're right, it makes a big difference because losing in the first game of the year it doesn't hurt you near as much now as it used to.
Speaker 6:Well, you know they were saying today how many teams is up in front? I think the first, the top ten is SEC Big Ten teams and see, with nobody having divisions this year, not everybody's going to play everybody. I mean South Carolina's not playing Tennessee.
Speaker 6:Florida or Georgia this year Clemson will not play NC State again until 2027. Wow, realizing and I didn't know that until I seen Dabo's the thing after Dabo's press conference after the game Saturday. So college football is crazy now the NIL transfer portal stuff but it's really getting kind of fun because of no divisions. That's the way it should have always been, because you could have potentially seen back when Clemson-Farter State was both relevant at the same time. You could have seen them play twice in one year instead of having divisions.
Speaker 1:Yeah, a lot of those ACC championships were not entertaining games.
Speaker 6:Right.
Speaker 1:And other teams were left out.
Speaker 6:that would have been not entertaining games, right, and the other teams were left out. That would have been. You know, I used to be that Clemson fan that said, you know, we used to watch Clemson for like two or three years during the Deshaun, especially the Trevor Lawrence era. Like you played Saturday, where it was like that week after week, no matter who you played. You know, even if you played like in Alabama in 2019, when they blew Alabama, I didn't see that coming, Not against an Alabama team, like that. Two 15-0 teams, you know, and they beat them 44-16. And it's just amazing how much college football has changed. Personally, I don't have a problem with the portal. What I have a problem with is the NIL stuff, and what I've got a problem with is, like DJ, nothing against.
Speaker 6:DJ but how you can transfer from school to school. If you transfer one time, you should have to stay there or sit out a year. You can just transfer wherever. I mean he comes to Clemson from California, then he goes all the way to Oregon State. Now he's even further in tallahassee, florida. Yeah, so it's just, it's great. But I'm looking at loyalty, I'm looking forward to the 12th and evidently he has a way of persuading people to keep making him a starting quarterback too.
Speaker 1:I don't know how he's doing that, and it's kind of like in the pros you see some guys making all this big time money and they never perform. This guy hasn't really proven anything anywhere.
Speaker 6: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:Is it $200 million?
Speaker 6:Yeah, has the money run to his head. I mean, if you get hurt you're still making that money. Guy was saying today, was saying the other day at work about the braves and stuff. Okay, well, the braves, all these baseball teams, could care less if they win or not. They're millionaires either way yeah that's the way I think some of them look at it. I mean, you want to win, it's a business to a lot of players.
Speaker 1: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 the office, you know punch the card exactly.
Speaker 6: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 pass for the game I see the text message.
Speaker 2:I haven't answered it yet because I gotta find it.
Speaker 6:That person has not texted me back yet and if you talk to Holly Harrell, will you let her know that I texted her.
Speaker 1:I'll be sure to do that. I don't see it very often. She's not here very much.
Speaker 2:It's literally unread, so I don't forget it.
Speaker 1:So you don't forget it. Yeah, because I've got to find the past. It's unread, so I don't forget it.
Speaker 2:That's right. So I gotta find the past. I'm sure I've got it.
Speaker 5:Now, Holly, you're gonna have a ton more calls this afternoon about that.
Speaker 6:It's all good. It's all good. On a serious note, before I get out of here, I appreciate you letting me do this. I look forward to it. Look forward to it every time we do it. I know I get on here most of the time and ramble. I know I get. You know we go on at each other, but I appreciate you letting me do this. I really do, like I said, I look forward to it. You could have chose anybody to do it, but you chose a goofball like me. I mean, you know, class of 2013 of Wren High School married my high school sweetheart. We got two beautiful little girls and celebrated our one-year-old this past Saturday. She took the class and I'm glad to see where it has come for you. I mean, if there's anybody that deserves it, it's you. I mean, you know you have worked so hard for it.
Speaker 1:She still hasn't opened the text for the parking pass. You can pour it on.
Speaker 6:I'm just saying no, I've just no. I appreciate it when I was in your class in 2012, how you wanted this thing to just succeed. And now I walk in there. When we went to open house, me and Tiffany come before Carson was born, and it may have even been before we got married and then it was just a whole turnaround just how the fours were and now it's even better. I mean, I haven't been in a couple years, but now it's even better. But but everybody needs a john boone in their life.
Speaker 6:That's right your lips to holly'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't know if you remember last year I had mentioned I was going to be on a YouTube show, kind of talking sports, we talk. Uh, clemson, we talk.
Speaker 1:Hey, when those guys, by the way, those guys when they do that show, would you please get some better sound? It sounds like you're far away. Get the microphones on you.
Speaker 6: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 cell phone camera and see, that's what. See. I've been kind of telling him kind of about you how you started out with absolutely nothing and then it just spiraled into this. I said now he's got a studio at the career center. What he's wanting to do he's wanting to get like a room at their house where it's just kind of like you had the studios built, where it's nothing but for that.
Speaker 6:Yeah, that's cool so they do it off of a cell phone camera and they try to get the sound the best they can get it, but I will mention that to him, but it's called JoJo Cool Pick Games or something like that. But we've got a Facebook page and this coming Monday I'll be back on there with them. They've got people listening in South America. They've got people listening in Brazil. He's got a nephew, I think in Louisiana, that sent him a Tulane pennant, an LSU pennant, so it's very, very fun it's awesome.
Speaker 6:It lasts about 30 minutes. This coming monday I'll be back on there. Go give us a follow on youtube. And it is wonderful. He done a show the day of the georgia tech florida state game in week zero and he fed everybody barbecue afterwards. And it was just everybody's opinion through the year what they were going to do and I think he wants to do one with the playoffs come out. But he he tries so hard. That's great Him and Jordan Constance do a wonderful job.
Speaker 1:All right.
Speaker 6:Please give us a follow and I think you'll enjoy the show.
Speaker 1:Thanks, zach.
Speaker 6:If you will, if you will, if you talk to Holly Harrell, if you know who I'm talking about, let her know that I sent her that text. Maybe she'll get. I don't have the same connections anymore, but yeah, I'll try to go through my channels.
Speaker 1:Which you would do, which you would do.
Speaker 3:I got you, zach, I got you.
Speaker 1:All right man.
Speaker 6:Hey y'all take care.
Speaker 1:You too.
Speaker 6:I'll talk to you later All right bye. What a mess.
Speaker 1:What a mess Nice guy. He's only on here for Holly. That's the only reason why he's on. He says all this stuff about me. He's only on here to see if he can get some tickets and parking passes.
Speaker 4:Come on, we didn't even discuss Ren's loss.
Speaker 1:To who?
Speaker 4:To TL Hanna.
Speaker 1: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 take a quick break to catch our breath here and we'll come back with more. With Katherine Garrison, a lot more we want to ask her about what's going on at Denver Downs and some other questions that students had for her.
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Speaker 1:The small and local businesses are the arteries of our communities. Many of these business owners are your neighbors and they reinvest their money into their businesses to bring more products and services to the communities they serve. The Palmetto Business Association is comprised of small and local businesses in Williamston, piedmont, pelzer, west Pelzer and surrounding areas. We, as an association, give back to the communities our businesses serve through many community events throughout the year. For more information, including a complete list of members, and to see upcoming events, please visit our website at palmetto businessorg. Back on the boone show on my pulse radio with katherine garrison from denver downs farm want to remind you of some upcoming events that we have with the radio station and such coming up. Yeah, this saturday there'll be another mascot at den Downs Farm.
Speaker 2:Oh, is Platypus down there.
Speaker 1:Going around. He was dancing in the pig races a couple years ago.
Speaker 5:Oh yeah, and the slide.
Speaker 1:And the slide. Yes, we got some good video of that, so he'll be around 10 to 2 will be down there on Saturday Looking forward to that. Everybody looks forward to that. All the kids are always talking about Denver Downs.
Speaker 2:They just love going. It's like a giant playground and that they can play at. A lot of times you go to a playground and these old kids can't play.
Speaker 1:Teenagers are everywhere. October 19th will be at Boo in the Park in Williamston, October 27th at SC Comic-Con Junior in Greenville and then on November 2nd our first Pickleball Palooza tournament it's out in Williamston, so we're looking forward to.
Speaker 2:That's exciting. Well, and everybody plays pickleball down in Williamston.
Speaker 1:I mean that always packed, so so yeah, come out, get some prizes. Yeah, we've got the local community has already given us over $500 worth of prizes to give 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 to having some fun. The proceeds go to.
Speaker 2:I'm glad he also has his Pfizer on.
Speaker 1:He's got that giant paddle out there. Did you see that? I don't know you can even swing that, but it's all to raise money for their New York trip to go to the Student Media Conference in March Very cool, so we're looking forward to that. The kids are really working hard to do the events and, yeah, I've got my fingers crossed Pretty nervous, but they're doing a good job. Doing a good job so far, that's right. So there's a lot more to talk about with Denver Down downs. I noticed you have a new structure down there oh yes so what is that all about?
Speaker 5:we are always keeping it fresh and coming up with new things every year, oh yes, so this year we've talked about this for many years and we decided to go for it. And we've got a paintball gallery. It's probably the best one you've ever seen. It is a great paintball. We've got tons of different targets for people to hit and at night there's lights that light up and it's just going to be.
Speaker 1:So they're not shooting each other, they're target shooting.
Speaker 5:They're target shooting Very cool, yes, so you don't have to get in there and get on your protective equipment and goggles and all that. So just a little taste of paintball. That's cool, very cool. Another thing, we and all that, so so just a little taste of paintball, so in case.
Speaker 1:That's cool, very cool another thing we'll get platypus involved yes see if he can shoot shoot some paintballs, but um okay, what else? Is there anything new that we're missing here?
Speaker 5:and for younger kids. We got a giant train struck wooden train structure that kids are going to enjoy climbing on. And we like that because of the train, because I'm not sure if y'all know that Denver is actually a railroad crossing community behind our farm. And that's where the name came from Denver, after the railroad crossing, and our dad, t Ed, when he was a child a long time ago in the 1930s, he used to take a wagon full of vegetables and he would sell them to the people that were stopping at the railroad station.
Speaker 1:I was always wondering where that name came from.
Speaker 5:Denver is a little railroad station. There used to be a general store and post office and all that down there. So Denver and then Downs means Rolling Hills.
Speaker 1:That's how we got our name. Are any of those structures still there?
Speaker 5:yes, really the general store and post office are still there, so you can zoom on by our farm down denver road and you can go to the little train tracks and that's where that's kind of cool, it's cool, good to know that's where we have our denver christmas parade every year right, yeah. So people call it our parade, but it's really the community's parade. Yeah, very cool.
Speaker 1:All right Now. You said something about cider during the break. What was that about?
Speaker 5: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 fun part of fall that people really enjoy having hot cider, cold cider, apple cider donuts and so our first two weekends in November are going to be our Cider Fest weekends. So we'll have vendors, we'll have all the ciders and we'll have apple cider donuts and we'll have apple pie eating contests.
Speaker 2:So you're going to have hot ciders, and John mentioned something about he likes cold ciders Do you have cold cider as well?
Speaker 4:Yes, absolutely Cold cider. Do you have cold cider as well?
Speaker 5:Yes, absolutely Cold cider, and we'll have hard cider for people that want to have enjoyable libations.
Speaker 1:I can be Dee Dee now. I used to dip those ginger snaps into cider.
Speaker 4:Cider, the hot cider, hot cider. Yeah, you have those in the fall.
Speaker 2:I didn't think about that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you know those gingers and molasses, cookies or whatever they are.
Speaker 2:Apple donuts are great, though, so that's a great accompaniment to the cider. Oh yeah, Delicious.
Speaker 1:Okay, let's see. I'm going to move on to the kids' questions. I'm trying not to step on their toes, but I did want to ask you just a general question about the agritourism. Yeah, I did want to ask you just a general question about the agritourism. Yeah, that's obviously become a huge deal. A lot of farms are doing it and some of them just to survive nowadays. Yes, what are your intentions with that?
Speaker 5:That's how we are Our farm is.
Speaker 5:You know, when our parents passed away we divided up the land and at the time we were doing general crops and row crops. We divided up the land and at the time we were doing general crops and row crops and we'd have 1,000 acres you could do in cotton or soybeans or wheat and things like that. So you can make. You know, with a large acreage you can make money on that. So our farm we've had to adjust over the years as the land's been divided and so we are keeping the original farm. My sisters and I are keeping the original farm, and so we found that agritourism is a way that we're able to sustain keeping the land, keeping it in agriculture and also incorporating tourism so that we can make the farm have a profit and to keep it.
Speaker 5:Keep it going and not not pay attention when developers come up knocking at our door there you go, yeah, and there's um.
Speaker 5:There's an element of education with it as well right, absolutely yes, and we do thousands of field trips throughout the fall season. We're actually sold out this year we can't do any more fall field trips. We've got every space that we have for that is filled up. But we love having school trips come out. They learn about the growth cycle of the pumpkins and corn and they see animals and learn about different things about the animals and then, of course, having fun.
Speaker 5:So we like to think that years ago and our mom started giving tours of our dairy farm back in the 1960s. So we've had school groups coming to our farm for a long time, school groups coming to our farm for a long time, and we used to think that a lot of people in South Carolina had grandparents or cousins that had farms that children would go and visit and make traditions of visiting farms. But it's just not like that today. So people are looking. They're living more in, you know, urban areas. They're looking for opportunities to go out and visit a farm and get a little taste of farm life and see where food and fiber comes from.
Speaker 1:Go ahead.
Speaker 2:Holly, I wonder how much money you bring into the Anderson area and I say Anderson area because I'm sure Clemson and South Georgia and all that area because of your farm, because people want to come and visit you know, and play and just hang out. I wonder how much fiscal data there's out there. There's got to be some kind of data out there on what you guys do.
Speaker 5:It'd be interesting to see. Yes, I know we're involved with Visit Anderson and different tourism groups around and all the hotels. We always communicate with hotels to make sure they know what we're doing and put their listings on our website so people know where to go when they come into town. We hope that we're having an impact economic development impact on that area.
Speaker 2:There's got to be, yeah, there has to be, there's got to be A number of people that come out there. My goodness, yeah, it's always packed, yes it seems like it's always packed.
Speaker 5:There's a lot of people that come from Greenville, anderson, pickens, oconee, but there are a lot of people we know that come over from Georgia, all the counties in Georgia and even North Carolina, the Charlotte area. People come up from Charlotte, north Carolina and Columbia. We've got a lot of people from the coast that come up. I'm looking for a little weekend destination so they'll come up and maybe not just come to our farm but make us part of their whole weekend in the mountains.
Speaker 2:Yes, that's what I'm saying, just it's part of it.
Speaker 1:So it always seems like you guys are on the cutting edge of all this agritourism too. Like you said, always keeping it fresh. How many conferences and stuff do you go to during the course of a year? I know you do the maze thing and that, how much planning. What do you see out there? That, um, like, what's the? What's the next big trend in agritourism that you're going to beat everybody to? Oh interesting, oh yeah, let's see it was funny.
Speaker 5:I had a friend tell me not too long ago like, yeah, y'all should really think about getting into flowers the flower. You know, tourism is a big thing right now. I'm like, yeah, we've been doing the sunflower festival for five years now.
Speaker 6:So yeah, we're on trend with that.
Speaker 5:That's working out great. We love flowers. So, yeah, we go to our maze conference, which is farms across the country that have corn mazes, and we found that, like us, a lot of them are turning more into a festival, not just a corn maize, so they have different activities going on for the whole fall and then also having different events throughout the year too, dealing with different crops. So we belong to NAFMA is the North American Farm Direct Marketing Association. We go to that every year and and tour different farms to get different ideas. So I'm always interested in visiting. Like cideries and vineyards I like to possibly do like a small vineyard.
Speaker 4:We're thinking about doing that that would be kind of cool. That's the next big thing.
Speaker 1:Yeah, nice vineyard, that'd be really yeah think of the possibilities that could go from that yeah that's yeah, that would be so.
Speaker 5: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 South Carolina Agritourism Association, which I was fun about. 10 years ago I was in a group that the Commissioner of Agriculture got together to start that. So we started off with maybe 15 members of the South Carolina Agritourism Association and now there are like 300 different agritourism businesses in South Carolina.
Speaker 2:Holy cow, who would have thought?
Speaker 1:Yeah, and one of our graduates from last year from our program is going into agritourism Porter.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, Do you know?
Speaker 1:Porter, I mean, I think he contacted you for some things when he was working on graduating.
Speaker 2:Dynamic young man yeah.
Speaker 5:I think my sister has spoken with him recently.
Speaker 1:I'm not sure he was very involved in FFA and all that, and yeah, that's what he wants to do and it's pretty cool. So quickly the questions from the students.
Speaker 5:Oh sure.
Speaker 1:Okay and I'll just go through in no important order. Do people have people ever gotten lost in the corn maze?
Speaker 5:That's a good question.
Speaker 1: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:So we like to say that at the end of the evening, if they're a car still in the parking lot.
Speaker 2:We got three out here hello, turn your flashlights on, we'll come get you we tell them to follow the light, follow the light oh my gosh, could you imagine?
Speaker 5:but, seriously, does that happen? It does, but people eventually do find it. I like to say there are emergency exits on all sides.
Speaker 3:That's right.
Speaker 5:They can't find their way out.
Speaker 1:They find some skeletons a few months later, oopsie.
Speaker 5:Funny thing that happened last year is a gentleman was sprayed by a skunk inside the gourmet.
Speaker 2:Oh no.
Speaker 5:No, no, no. And so one night we were cleaning up on a Saturday night and somebody brought back a bag of clothes and shoes they had found in the parking lot and they're like this is the reeking of skunk or whatever. So a few days later I got a call from a gentleman who was explaining to me that he had been in the farm the weekend before and he'd gotten sprayed by a skunk. I said oh yes, we found your clothes in the parking lot.
Speaker 1:So interesting how he was driving home. But they found his clothes. All right, Are you hiring for scarecrows?
Speaker 5:We do our hiring of our corn cops Corn cops, corn, cops, corn, cops, they're our staff 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 trained and they're ready to go by the opening day, you don't have to dress up like a scarecrow. We call them corn cops.
Speaker 1:I love it, that is pretty funny. It's a little more fun than just calling staff or the team yeah, that's pretty cool, and we sort of answered how do you get the pigs to race, oreos being the answer. Now how do you get them to run for it?
Speaker 5:You have to push them along a little bit the first few times around, and then they get 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 Try marshmallows really you need to try that. I think that would be a lot easier too than cookies.
Speaker 1:Now you have one of those big giant chairs out there.
Speaker 5:Yes.
Speaker 1:Did you build it?
Speaker 4:Yes, giant chairs out there. Yes, did you build it?
Speaker 1:yes, okay, well, I'm not that was a question not me personally, but uh, I did not build it, but your people built it.
Speaker 5: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:I did something about or we we somebody else did it. Yeah, it's did it. It's a good delegation there.
Speaker 1:How much hay is in that big hay, whatever you call that thing.
Speaker 4:That's a good question, the hay house thing.
Speaker 1:Yeah, what do you call that I?
Speaker 4:know, how much it costs and how many dollars it is.
Speaker 3:I know how many dollars it is.
Speaker 5:It is a lot of hay.
Speaker 1:yes, and what do you call that attraction, the hay barn or straw barn?
Speaker 5:There we go straw barn, so you don't know for sure, but that's like hay barn is full of hay right now, so it's better quality than hay is better quality than straw right so right now it's hay, so there are a lot of round bales that we can feed to animals in the off season.
Speaker 1:yeah, yeah, all right, you already gave us what the corn maze is this year. Do you harvest the corn?
Speaker 5:No, after the end of the season. It's not in a great state to harvest, okay.
Speaker 1:So then the next question do you use it for cornbread?
Speaker 5:That wouldn't be. We love cornbread, we do love cornbread, we love cornbread, we do love cornbread.
Speaker 1:And then the last question was about the sunflowers. They're interested and that's in the spring, but how long does it take for sunflowers to grow?
Speaker 5:There are different varieties between 60 and 90 days Okay.
Speaker 1:Because they get pretty big.
Speaker 5:So we'll start planting them in April. So the ones that are 90 days out, we'll plant those early April and then 60-day varieties we'll plant towards the end of April and hopefully they come up.
Speaker 1:Now, this year you had a good season, right. That was before the drought, right Exactly.
Speaker 5:Yes, and we do have a lot of irrigation anyway. Yep. So this said. Then, july, as soon as we planted the corn, um the drought, it never rained, it started hitting us yes, all right so to complement the the sunflower planting.
Speaker 2:When do you plant the corn?
Speaker 5:in july, after the sunflowers are cut down, then we plant the corn gotcha all right.
Speaker 1:Okay, so we're reaching the end of the show and, catherine, I don't know if we did this the last time you were here, but we've gotten in the habit of getting recommendations from our guests for our listeners, both in entertainment can be a movie, something that you're binge-watching, or something on TV, a book that you're reading, anything like that, something on TV, a book that you're reading, anything like that. And for food, whether it be a restaurant 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 these recommendations, I just finished the Perfect Couple on.
Speaker 1:Netflix Is that good? Because I saw that and I was like I've got to put it on the list.
Speaker 5:Yes it was good. I like that. I think I saw that one. I just watched it.
Speaker 1:They're at a wedding. It's just one season. They're at a wedding and somebody dies or whatever.
Speaker 5:Is that it? Yes, it's got Nicole Kidman in it. And who else is?
Speaker 1:in it. Oh yeah, that guy, I forget his name, but he doesn't look anything like he looks in any other movie. But I like the actor.
Speaker 5:And I'm reading the Gentleman in Moscow and they just came out with a movie about that. But I want to make sure I finish the book. It's in Russia and this guy is confined to living in a hotel and it's all about his experience there and he's a writer, so I'm making myself finish the book before I watch the movie?
Speaker 1:Okay, all right. And what about some food item?
Speaker 2:Oh restaurants and we love local.
Speaker 1:Oh, yes, we love local.
Speaker 5:Well, my favorite. I always hate giving away my local places because then it's going to be crowded, which it was Sunday. Well, I've got two, so I'll mention Ruffage.
Speaker 2:Yes, I've heard of that. I haven't been there.
Speaker 5:So that's right up the road from Denver Downs right up from the farm that is so good. Eric and Jennifer Eric's the chef there and they're just tremendous. Every bite you eat is just fantastic.
Speaker 1:Now that sounds like what. Is that a farm-to-table type thing? It sounds like it. They have breakfast, breakfast and lunch, breakfast and lunch. Okay, and they do some dinners.
Speaker 5:They're starting to do more dinners and then so they were packed on Sunday because it was Parents Weekend at Clemson and it was just packed.
Speaker 1:So we went.
Speaker 5:I could always use some good fried chicken In the county.
Speaker 2:Wilhelmina's, wilhelmina's, wilhelmina's.
Speaker 5: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:All right.
Speaker 5:That's exit 14.
Speaker 1:check it out. It's the best fried chicken. It's delicious gonna have to try that I will all right so there you go, guys. Uh, katherine, before I let you go, you've said all the attractions and everything. How about a couple highlights for people? We hadn't talked about much about the food and drink, but just very quickly, uh, some of the offerings food and drink wise at at Denver Downs as well, because I know there's some great stuff.
Speaker 5:Absolutely Everyone loves our kettle corn and we'll have our funnel cakes and our fresh-squeezed lemonade everyone loves. We'll have barbecue sandwiches and hamburgers and hot dogs and chicken fingers for little kids and adults like them too barbecue nachos. And then we have our adult beverage area. We have a barley and vine little beer garden which is our silo bar.
Speaker 1:Nice.
Speaker 5:And, of course, shaved ice. For these weekends it's going to be hot.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 5:And pumpkin pie. Oh, that's right. You come out to the farm.
Speaker 1:Is that homemade stuff?
Speaker 5:That is stuff. I wish I were up making it, but I'm not. I thought well, you know, you do everything.
Speaker 1:According to you, it's just. Yeah, I do that.
Speaker 5:No, I'm just kidding, we like getting a lot of stuff from the Sweeterie. They do a great job. Oh, the Sweeterie yes absolutely.
Speaker 1:We agree with that.
Speaker 2:Their strawberry cake is amazing. That's what we get Holly for. It's excellent.
Speaker 1:All right, you have anything to add? Over there, puggles, you've been sitting there quietly the whole time and I know you love Denver Downs.
Speaker 4:I do so.
Speaker 1:I'm going to recommend one thing at.
Speaker 4:Denver Downs. It would be that big old yellow thing that you jump on. Oh, the pillow. Jumping pillow, that's my favorite thing ever and your big, huge slide. Also, when is your haunted maze open?
Speaker 5:so we're not doing the haunt but we're open at night so people can do the the maze at night. And we got our little so we've moved away from the haunt and so we're doing the. Um, we're doing a little light show like a lighted trail, okay, so that's next to the pumpkin patch. That um, it's like a little magical light show. Yeah, okay, a little more kid friendly, that's right, I've pumpkin patch that is like a little magical light show.
Speaker 1:Yeah, okay, a little more kid-friendly.
Speaker 4:That's right, I've just been opening up to more scarier things. I went to Mad World last weekend, but now I have the courage to do it. But now it's not there.
Speaker 1:Oh, oh well. Oh well, that's all right, I'll still come.
Speaker 5:You get to live with your mom and dad that at night we've got the bonfires and live music too.
Speaker 1:it's fun for teenagers and Holly, that's a good date night idea too. It is absolutely. That sounds like a real good date night idea it's very romantic and not far from your house, john.
Speaker 2:It isn't that far.
Speaker 4:I'm down at Fairplay 15 minutes I can be there.
Speaker 5:Come on out. Well, catherine, thank you so much for coming. It's always great to see you play. But yeah, 15 minutes I can be that's really close.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, all right, come on out. Well, catherine, thank you so much for coming. It's always great to see you great to see you always got a big smile on her face it's just having to be around.
Speaker 1:I know she gets stressed because this 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 down there on saturday from 10 2. So if you see the big platypus wandering around, it's not a beaver, it's not a duck, it's a platypus. So say hi to him, or her.
Speaker 5:We're proud of what y'all are doing, and we appreciate that.
Speaker 1:And yeah, that'll about wrap it up. I always tell the kids don't do yeah, because that's a terrible way to wrap things up on their shows. Well, yeah, that means you just ran out of things to say, but we are done with things to say and we've had a great time with you. Catch the podcast. We're going to try to get this up right away so people can listen to it before the opening weekend. So look for that on Spotify and wherever you get your podcasts. And thanks again for listening to the Boone Show on MyPulse Radio.