2012 Grand American and Coon Fest

4th/3rd Nite Champion/High Scoring English Female: NITE CH ‘PR’ Swamp Bottom Star, owned by Greg Ervin, right, of Watkinsville, Georgia, 550+. Also shown is Blake Ervin and Alan Short. Photo by UKC.

Great independent logo for the event 

An array of lights were available for sale

Choose a hat with your favorite coon dog breed on it

The 47th Annual Grand American Hunt and Coon Fest was held in Orangeburg on January 6 -8 at the fairgrounds. Known as the Super Bowl of coon hunt competitions, it draws dog lovers from states all across the Southeast. The gates for Coon Fest opened at 7 a.m. on Friday, followed by opening ceremonies at 10 a.m. and a treeing contest after lunch. A Bench Show, or dog show, is also a part of coon fest and entrants registered for the Saturday show competitions which included a kids division. Two nights of hunting for UKC-registered dogs were held on Friday and Saturday nights with the presentation of trophies and results taking place at 3 a.m. on Sunday morning after competitors come out of the woods of Orangeburg County. Racoons are hunted, tracked and trees but none are injured or killed during the Grand American. Coon fest is a two-day celebration of all things involved in the coon hunting lifestyle, including vendors selling clothes and night-lites, and breeders selling coon dogs. A community spirit graced the 2012 coon fest and the hunt competition between dog breeds like Reedbone, BlueTick, Plott's, English and Walker. Congrats to Greg Kennedy of New Zion, S.C. for his coon dog named McGhee's Sailorman taking first place on Saturday night. For all the Grand American results view the UKC site.

For past blog entries on the Grand American click here.