As part of the planning process for the upcoming Ozarks Program at the 2023 Smithsonian Folklife Festival on the National Mall in DC from June 28th to July 9th, many discussions have been held involving Smithsonian staff, reps from the MSU Libraries, and reps from other Ozarks organizations about the importance of pork as a protein source in the Ozarks. For hundreds of years hog butchering was an important family and community practice. 

The logistics of having a demonstration of hog butchering on the National Mall during the hot humid months were daunting, so the planning group sought an Ozarks location that still practices hog butchering. They found Pat Johnson, the director of the Eddie Mae Herron Center in Pocahontas, Arkansas, on the Black River in the eastern Ozarks. After a couple of years off because of COVID, the community planned to gather on Saturday, February 18, 2023 for the annual community hog butchering. 

Both the Smithsonian Institution and the Ozarks Studies Institute, an ongoing initiative of the Missouri State University Libraries, sent teams to film, photograph, and document the event. 

Activities began at 5:00 a.m., when Pat and a few colleagues gathered at the Eddie Mae Herron Center to light outdoor fires under large barrels of water to heat the water to boiling to scald the hog later that morning. As day broke, others gathered, including a master butcher and various local people knowledgeable about the various skills needed for hog butchering, to perform various necessary tasks. Even the local Scout Troupe pitched in to help. Other community members gathered to watch and socialize. 

The hog was euthanized at approximately 8:30 a.m., and by 1:00 p.m. all of the various cuts of meat were auctioned off to members of the community as a fund-raiser for the Center. A large and delicious potluck luncheon was enjoyed by nearly 100 people.