Live music, food, & Appalachian heritage crafts
at the
historic Simon Farm
September 27 & 28, 2025, 10 AM to 4 PM
The John Roger Simon Sorghum Festival is back - and is always the last full weekend in September!! After running for 37 straight years, the festival was thought to be permanently retired in 2018 as an inevitable consequence of its aging organizers. However, the story of this beloved event took a surprising turn when the non-profit Arc of Appalachia and John Roger Simon collaborated to bring it back to life in 2022. This year will be its 41st run!
Step back in time and immerse yourself in the rich traditions of Appalachian culture. The Sorghum Festival is a lively celebration featuring impromptu music circles where the melodies of traditional stringed instruments fill the air. Wander through the farm and watch skilled artisans demonstrate heritage crafts like corn husk doll making, wheat weaving, and quilting.
Experience rural life skills that have stood the test of time in Appalachia, including wool spinning and soap-making. It’s a vibrant gathering honoring the artistry and ingenuity of Appalachian life—perfect for all ages to enjoy!
Admission: Parking and Admission are free.
Address: 8721 Careys Run Pond Creek Road, Portsmouth, OH 45663
This beloved community celebration takes place at John Roger Simon’s historic well-preserved 5th-generation French homestead on the banks of Pond Creek, framed by the farm’s 500-plus acres of forested Appalachian hills. The event is free to the public and features the making of sorghum syrup, heritage crafts demonstrations, southern food, and the jamming of musicians playing old-time music.
Celebrate Appalachian Folk Art & Music. Old-time musicians from around the region will once again wend their way to the festival to linger for just a few hours or stay the entire weekend. Music will erupt unpredictably from impromptu music circles, showcasing different kinds of traditional stringed instruments. Artisans will also gather at the farm to demonstrate rural heritage crafts, like corn husk dolls and wheat weavings, and rural life skills that persisted longer in Appalachia than the rest of the nation, such as spinning wool, quilting, and soap-making.
Come hungry! Hot dogs with Bea’s recipe of homemade meat sauce and chips, bean soup & cornbread, and sorghum-sweetened baked goods are once again on the menu and will be available for purchase throughout the event.
Tour the Historic Simon Farm Homestead. The legacy of the Simon family dates back to the middle 1800s when Jean Baptiste Narjoz migrated from France to this handsome hill-country Farm in Scioto County. His daughter married John Simon, who is the great-grandfather of the event’s founder, John Roger Simon. Jean and his daughter built the two-story farmhouse in 1864 - the same building that still stands on the site today. Virtually unaltered from its earliest years, the home sits among a number of historic barns and outbuildings — all built with lumber cut on a water-powered sawmill that the Simon family operated on Pond Creek.
One of the outbuildings on the property that will be open during the Festival is a museum of old farm implements – tools that were used by John’s family and his friends and neighbors in earlier times.
Enjoy a beautiful natural setting. The Sorghum Festival also honors the splendor of the Appalachian forests and landscapes that inspired the culture and lives of our nation’s Appalachian peoples. The Simon Farm protects hundreds of acres of mature white oak woodlands – a forest much older than those typically found in Ohio. Visitors to the farm are encouraged to tune in to the deep connection between nature and Appalachian culture throughout this event.
Festival Schedule
Coming soon…
Saturday, September, 27 :
TBA
Sunday, September 28:
TBA
* if you are coming on Sunday, come early if you want to see the Sorghum being made!
What is Sorghum?
Sorghum is a sturdy grass that is cultivated around the world as an important food crop. A staple in the Appalachian diet since the mid-1800’s, it is planted in early spring and its robust canes are harvested in the fall. The canes are pressed and the juice produced is cooked until it thickens into a natural sweetener with many culinary applications. Only 10 gallons of the sweet juice are needed to produce 1 gallon of syrup. During the festival, you can watch the process from start to finish and purchase fresh sorghum syrup to take home with you as supplies last.
Directions
Address for GPS: 8721 Careys Run Pond Creek Road, Portsmouth, OH 45663
Directions heading North from Portsmouth or south out of Chillicothe: From OH-104, turn west on OH-73. Drive 2.8 miles on OH-73, past Taylor Lumber. Turn left on Careys Run/Pond Creek Road. Holy Trinity Catholic Church’s meeting hall will be on the far left hand corner. Follow Careys Run/Pond Creek Road for a little over a mile. The historic homestead at 8721 Careys Run Pond Creek Road will be on your right – easily identified by the Sorghum-making mural on the side of the barn painted by Robert Dafford.The farm’s fields and wooded hills can be seen on both sides of the road. Parking is on the left, across from the homestead and Pond Creek propert.
Directions from OH-41: Turn east on OH-73 off of OH-41 at Locust Grove. Follow OH-73 east for 25 miles. Turn right on Careys Run/Pond Creek Road. Holy Trinity Catholic Church’s meeting hall will be on the right near corner on your right. Follow Careys Run/Pond Creek Road for a little over a mile. The historic homestead at 8721 Careys Run Pond Creek Road will be on your right – easily identified by the Sorghum-making mural on the side of the barn. The fields and wooded hills of the property can be seen on both sides of the road. Parking is in the field on your left, directly across from the farmstead and Pond Creek.