Rita Raccoon’s field notebook has a new measurement category: swamp holler. The Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge has scheduled its second annual Swamp Hollerin’ Contest for Saturday, Oct. 10, at 10:30 a.m., as part of the Okefenokee Festival in Folkston, Georgia.
The contest invites participants of all ages to bring their best calls. Judges will consider projection, loudness, authenticity, clarity and overall performance. Cash prizes go to the top three contestants in each of two groups: adults 18 and older, and youth 17 and younger. Registration is limited to the first 15 adults and 15 youth, with sign-up at the refuge’s festival tent.
A sound with a practical past
The refuge describes hollering as a way families communicated across the Okefenokee’s broad wet prairies and swamps before cell phones and radios. A regional history compiled by Valdosta State University’s Archives and Special Collections adds more texture: folklorist Francis Harper documented local hollering and yodeling, including calls used to summon livestock, signal that someone was heading home, or simply enjoy making a sound.
That gives the contest a useful range. A call can carry a message, mark a homecoming, or earn points for clarity. The judges’ scorecard supplies the official categories; Rita’s notebook has added “strong sense of direction” in the margin, pending editorial review.
Folkston gets the call
The competition is part of the Okefenokee Festival in Folkston, where refuge staff will host the contest offsite. Its all-ages format brings a traditional skill into a present-day community gathering, with both youth and adults invited to take part. The event page says the contest celebrates the sounds and spirit of communities around the refuge.
For anyone keeping score at home, the judging checklist is admirably specific: projection, loudness, authenticity, clarity and overall performance. Rita has confirmed that “overall performance” is a broad enough category to include a compelling entrance and a well-organized notebook. She is still checking whether raccoons qualify for either age division.
Until Oct. 10, the contest’s official forecast is simple: Folkston will have a festival tent, a limited roster of contestants and at least one reporter prepared to take sound seriously. Rita recommends bringing a full voice—and leaving room in the notebook for the results.
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