New Non-Profit Taking Over Poke Sallet Festival

A new Jackson County non-profit will take over the Poke Sallet Festival.

Casey Jackson is one of the four board members that created the Poke Sallet Foundation.

“My husband grew up in the area, and he’s always really loved going to the Poke Sallet Festival,” Jackson said. “When we heard that it would be available, we though this would be a great opportunity to start the non-profit.”

The American Legion Post 129 moved on from operating the event this month. Jackson said they do not plan on making changes to the events of the Poke Sallet Festival.

“We don’t want to change a whole lot, because it is such a strong tradition,” Jackson said. “We want to keep that going with the 45th year of having it, but we do want to make changes to make it easier for vendors and flatter spaces for people to walk through the event. So, we are going to move some things around physically.”

Jackson said the overall goal is to bring the event back to the level it once was. Jackson said the foundation also wants to host an event for each season moving forward.

“We just loved the event so much,” Jackson said. “My husband talks about how amazing it was in 90’s. It has just gotten smaller and smaller over the years. With my background with non-profits, running events, resources we have as business owners and what we have with the other couple on the board, we see this getting bigger and better every year.”

Jackson said the other three board members include her husband and another couple of business owners Beau and Kara Smith. Jackson said they are now working on the legal paperwork and establishing its operating board. Jackson said they plan to meet next month on the next steps.