MOUNT STERLING — Today will be the last time Mount Sterling will host an annual tradition that includes a unique delicacy.
The Sportsman’s Club will have its final Testicle Festival for the foreseeable future starting today at 2 p.m. Bar owner Tim Wachter, along with his wife, Nicole, decided that with the frequency the event has been rained out, hosting several smaller events throughout the year would be preferable than hosting one big festival.
“We’ve suffered some pretty severe thunderstorms and rain and it really kills it,” Tim Wachter said. “We have decided that, rather than put all of our eggs in one basket with one big festival in the summer, we’re going to say goodbye to the Testicle Festival. We’re going to spread that out over several events.”
Tim Wachter isn’t sure when the annual event started, but in 2004, new ownership took over and decided to make the festival — which features fried bull, pig or turkey testicles — even bigger. Hanging a “Testicle Festival” banner over Main Street drummed up some admitted disdain among some residents, though, and generated attention to the festival from across the state.
Riding the wave of publicity, the following years for the festival proved to be large successes, with carnival rides, tattoo artists and bike shows. In 2008, the owners threw their last festival. In 2012, the Wachters, the most recent owners of the club, decided to revive the event but keep it smaller than in the past.
Other food will also be available. There will also be a performances by Tanner Norris at 2 p.m., by classic and Southern rock band Hear Say at 4 p.m. and by rock and roll band Vertigo at 8 p.m.
Admission is free for those 21 and older. The festival will continue until midnight.
