History of the Ozark Collard Green Festival
From a simple farming need to an Alabama tradition — the story of how collard greens brought a community together.
The Story of the Ozark Collard Green Festival
The Ozark Collard Green Festival began in 2025 under a different name, “Joyful F.A.R.M.S. Collard Green Festival.”
Its beginnings were rooted in a simple farming need. Joyful F.A.R.M.S. had collard greens ready to sell and needed a market for its crop. We decided to bring the community to the farm, creating an event where people could purchase locally grown collard greens while enjoying food, family, agriculture, and Southern traditions.
With just two weeks to plan and promote the event, a small idea became a community celebration. Approximately 500 people attended the inaugural festival, showing us how much interest there was in gathering to support local farmers and celebrate the food they grow.
That first gathering planted the seed for what would become the Ozark Collard Green Festival. Its purpose continues today: connecting farmers with the community, creating opportunities for local agriculture, and celebrating the traditions that bring people together.
Celebrating Collard Greens and Southern Heritage
Collard greens have been part of Southern agriculture, cooking, and family life for generations. They remind many of us of Sunday dinners, holiday meals, and recipes passed from grandparents to children and grandchildren.
Before those greens reach the dinner table, however, a farmer has devoted time and care to growing them. Farmers prepare the soil, plant the crop, manage irrigation and nutrients, protect the plants, and harvest the leaves that help feed their communities.
The Ozark Collard Green Festival honors that connection—from the farmers who grow our food to the families who prepare it, share it, and keep its traditions alive.
The Collard Greens That Started It All
The collard greens that inspired the first festival were grown by Joyful F.A.R.M.S. using high-tunnel production, commonly known as a tunnel house.
These structures provide a protected growing environment, helping shield crops from strong winds, excessive rainfall, and some temperature extremes. They also allow us to manage irrigation and growing conditions more closely while monitoring soil health, pests, and crop development.
Our goal was simple: grow healthy, high-quality collard greens for our community. When we planted those greens, we never imagined they would become the beginning of a community festival.
From Joyful F.A.R.M.S. to the Ozark Collard Green Festival
Approximately 500 people attended the inaugural festival after just two weeks of planning and promotion. That response helped us see the event’s potential as an annual celebration connecting local agriculture with the community.
As the vision grew, the Joyful F.A.R.M.S. Collard Green Festival became the Ozark Collard Green Festival. The new name reflected a broader community identity and an opportunity for Ozark and the surrounding region to help shape its future.
Our vision was to build an agricultural and cultural event that would welcome visitors from across Alabama and, eventually, throughout the Southeast—while keeping local farmers and Southern food traditions at its heart.
Recognition by the State of Alabama
In 2026, the festival reached an important milestone when the Alabama Legislature recognized and commended the inaugural Ozark Collard Green Festival through House Joint Resolution 176 (HJR176).
For an event that began as a way to create a market for locally grown collard greens, this recognition was especially meaningful. It honored the celebration that farmers, families, businesses, and community partners had helped bring to life.
What began on the farm was growing into a tradition we hope families will enjoy for generations.
A Festival With a Bigger Purpose
Today, the Ozark Collard Green Festival creates opportunities to support local farmers, introduce visitors to small businesses, and share the Southern food traditions that connect generations.
By bringing together families, schools, agricultural leaders, vendors, and community organizations, the festival also offers a place for young people to learn about farming and understand where their food comes from.
As the festival grows, its beginnings will remain part of its story: a crop of collard greens, a farmer’s need for a market, and a community that showed up.
Those greens brought people to the farm. The connections made there gave us a reason to keep growing.