As St. Petersburg has its Festival of States, Pasco its Chasco Fiesta and Tampa its Gasparilla, Coon Dog Day is the annual summer festival of Saluda, a town of some 760 or so near Asheville. These dogs, of specific breed, traditionally are employed in hunting, and take their name from the chasing and treeing of raccoons. On each Coon Dog Day, of which there have been 36, coon dogs and their owners gather for such competition. Given modern sensibilities, no actual raccoons are harmed. Coon Dog Day draws thousands of humans and an indeterminate number of dogs.
Vendors line the two-block downtown to sell barbecue and hot dogs.
My favorite float is the Cooncorde. The square dance is in the evening. We are abuzz with square-dance talk at the restaurant, which, as I have earlier mentioned, is run by two sisters of my acquaintance. The Sisters arrange a group lesson early in the week. We bring in an experienced local dancer, named Hop, and Bob the Caller.