The National Hollerin' Contest, first held in 1969, is an annual competition held in Spivey's Corner, North Carolina.

The contest, held on the third Saturday in June, was inaugurated in order to revive the almost-lost art of "hollerin'", a sophisticated vocal tradition that served as a means of long-distance communication between individuals as well as an amusing form of entertainment, before the widespread adoption of the telephone.

Contestants from the contest have appeared on Johnny Carson

Johnny Carson

John William "Johnny" Carson was an American television host and comedian, known as host of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson for 30 years . Carson received six Emmy Awards including the Governor Award and a 1985 Peabody Award; he was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1987...

's The Tonight Show

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson is a talk show hosted by Johnny Carson under the Tonight Show franchise from 1962 to 1992. It originally aired during late-night....

and The Late Show with David Letterman.

External links

• ibiblio: The National Hollerin' Contest
• ibiblio: The Lost Art of Hollerin' (with audio examples)
• NPR report: Audio Postcard: The National Hollerin' Contest (links to audio report)
• Catawba College: The Almost Lost Folk Art of Spivey’s Corner Hollerin’