Photo Credit: Rose Gunther
On Saturday, Oct. 4, students from St. Leo the Great University Parish spent their day volunteering at the annual Atkins Heritage Festival in Atkins, Arkansas, held behind the Church of the Assumption.
The festival is more than just a celebration of local culture; it is also a fundraiser with a purpose. Proceeds from the event support the refurbishment of the iconic “Go Hogs Go” sign, visible off Interstate 40 and beloved by Razorback fans across the state. Funds are split between People for a Better Atkins (PBA), the organization leading the sign restoration effort, and the Church of the Assumption, a historic parish in the community. The project aims to strengthen the sign’s structure, use longer-lasting materials, and improve the site’s visibility and accessibility for years to come.
Students from St. Leo met at 7:30 a.m. to carpool to the festival site. Upon arrival at 8:00 a.m., they jumped right into setup duties, helping with sponsor banners, game booths, directional signs, and tables for food and entertainment. Once their work was done, volunteers were treated to a community breakfast served from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m., marking the official start of the day’s festivities.
The event kicked off with a flag presentation by the ATU Reserve Officers’ Training Corps, followed by a performance of the national anthem bty the Atkins High School choir. Local leaders, including the city mayor, Rowdy Sweet, and the high school football coach, Johmar Barringer, also welcomed guests and spoke on the importance of community partnerships.
From there, the grounds buzzed with activity. Festival attractions included a dunking booth, bouncy houses, a mud pit, pig racing, a fishpond, cake walk, bowling, and goat roping, along with live music from the band The Hurricane Outlaws. All game and activity stations were manned by St. Leo volunteers and members of the Atkins High School football team. Classic fair food was in no short supply with hot dogs, fried chicken, hamburgers, cheese fries, and assorted sodas on hand for hungry guests.
The highlight of the day was the much-anticipated pig race, where brave competitors teamed up to wrangle small pigs, then carry them across a mud pit. Among the featured racers were Father Shekhar and ATU student Rose Gunther, who competed against fellow St. Leo members Corey Naegle and Luke Rainwater. Each team’s first runner had to carry a pig across the mud pit and pass it off to their partner, who then raced back to place the pig in a pen. The boys’ team claimed victory, though spectators joked that a “suspicious head start” by Rainwater may have swayed the outcome.
Other teams, including Atkins football players and St. Leo volunteers, followed in the muddy footsteps of the first race, and soon the mud pit became a free-for-all of playful chaos. Students, covered in muck, took turns slinging mud at friends and tackling each other into the water. After being covered head to toe, everyone was hosed off and returned to their posts to help run games and assist with cleanup at the end of the day.
The festival wrapped up around 4:00 p.m., but the memories (and the muddy shoes) will last a lot longer. Events like these reflect the heart of St. Leo’s mission: building fellowship through faith, fun, and meaningful service.
