First Chuckwagon Festival Moseys Into Putnam Friday And Saturday

A piece of history arrived in Putnam County Thursday as the first Chuckwagon Festival arrives for a two-day run at Lazy G Ranch.

Historically, a chuckwagon is a covered wagon used to store and cook food when traveling by wagon. Traditional chuckwagon food included bison, beans, potatoes, bread, cornbread, and campfire cobbler. Tessa Davis is Marketing And Sales Manager for the Cookeville Visitor’s Bureau. She said the community gets a traditional cowboy experience.

“I know there are probably a lot of people like myself, who didn’t know what chuckwagons were,” Davis said. “So they can see for themselves this weekend at Lazy G Ranch what those look like and can try some different plates from that era.”

Friday, the event will be free and open to the public. There will be hayrides, tours of the ranch, and the chuckwagons setup for residents to see.
Saturday will be for ticket holders only. They will get to experience chuckwagon-authentic food at high noon from nine different wagons, plus music, and wild west reenactments. Tickets for Saturday can be purchased at Lazy G Ranch or online.

Both days’ events are from 10am-4pm.

“There is different chuckwagon festivals all over around Nashville,” Davis said. “They also do them towards Gatlinburg and Townsend, and its something that’s gotten very popular.”

A chuckwagon was set up on Jefferson Avenue all day Thursday given out free chuckwagon biscuits to promote the festival.