Exploring the Connection between Culture and Tourism

Judson Clark Griffies

ANT2000 Spring 2025

Project Goals

How has the cultural practice of worm gruntin’ contributed to promoting the town of Sopchoppy through the Worm Gruntin’ Festival? This blog post aims to present the evidence that I  recorded at this year's Worm Gruntin' Festival. My decision to focus on this festival stems from a longstanding interest in its unique appeal, which was bolstered by the quirky promotional materials that always manage to catch my attention. The significance of this research lies in its potential application beyond this specific event and potentially in my own home town. By examining the relationship between cultural practices and community promotion, my findings could offer valuable insights into how similar-sized towns might leverage local traditions to enhance visibility and engagement.  

One of the many streets of the festival lined with local vendors.

Background Research

I acknowledge that I am not the first researcher to pose a question related to tourism and culture. A few academic articles have guided me during this study, such as the article  "The Role of Anthropology in Understanding Culture and Society" by R. Shiya This article highlights how anthropology contributes to understanding human diversity, societal evolution, and cultural practices. It also addresses the importance of cultural relativism by giving precedence to analyzing societies without bias. Another article that has provided key ideas for how I might conduct this study is "The Future of Archaeology is (Still) Community Collaboration" by Lindsay Montgomery. Montgomery’s focus is primarily on how it is nearly impossible to conduct research without the help and support of the community in which the research is being conducted. I believe this idea is paramount in any sort of cultural observation. For if we are forthright with what we are searching for, the community may be more willing to participate! Another interesting insight was garnered through reading “‘They are Taking Our Culture Away’: Tourism and Culture Commodification in the Garifuna Community of Roatan” by Kirtsglou and Theodossopoulos. This article posed the interesting negative effects of tourism in Roatan, Honduras and how local cultural identity was being extorted for profit. The final article I examined in preparation for my study of the Sopchoppy Worm Gruntin’ festival was “Identity, material culture and tourism: Of ritual cloths and totem poles” by Victor King. This article provides a general summary and study of culture and the various impacts that tourism can have. These four articles were essential in furthering my understanding of the relationship between tourism and  culture. 

The Main Stage of the festival! Where many local bands took the stage and sang many staples such as 'Copper Head Road.'

Methodology

To conduct my research I needed to travel to the small town of Sopchoppy located in Wakulla County, Florida. I traveled in my Nissan Murano armed only with my wallet, cellphone, and Sony digital camera. I was accompanied on this trip by my girlfriend, Camryn, and my dog, Clark. I traveled from my home in Port St. Joe, Florida which is an approximate 66 miles, or one hour and twenty minutes, away. 

Upon arriving in Sopchoppy my party discovered how well attended the festival was. Cars lined the entirety of the town’s streets, forcing us to park nearly six blocks away from the festival entrance. As we walked through the neighborhood towards the festival, we passed many homes of varying ages of construction. We passed multiple “yard sales” being conducted from the lawns of such homes and saw many community members engaging in the sale of personal items. 

When we entered into the festivities we paid our two dollar entrance fee ($1 respectively) and made our way through the crowd. There were easily seventy five, or more, booths that contained a variety of culturally rich products. There were native plants displays, handmade birdhouses, local art and photography, pop-up boutiques, and nearly everything in between. Truly, there was something for everyone featured in the small town on that second Saturday in April. Camryn and I made our way down one row of these booths and came to the “main drag” which was lined with several food trucks. These food trucks had the typical fried foods you might expect, but there were also coffee stands, seafood trailers, and other unique eats. 

Behind the main street was an area roped off for worm gruntin’ purposes. Access to this area was restricted to only those who wanted to participate in the activity for which the festival was named. In this area, my party and I observed several groups attempting to “grunt up” worms using a wooden dowel and a flat file. We saw the success of several individuals who immediately transported their harvest to a nearby booth; Revell’s Live Bait. The Revell family are long time grunters in the Apalachicola National Forest and have harvested worms in this region for their high value as a fishing bait. Behind this booth was the Old Sopchoppy Train Depot, which at some juncture, was remodeled and repurposed into a museum. Within this small museum were several photographs, artifacts, and local accounts of the area’s history. 

As we continued throughout the festival we passed many interesting booths and encountered a plethora of fascinating people, who above all, were kind. In the midst of Sopchoppy’s Depot Park was a stage. Throughout our trek of the festival I had heard the sound of various country and western tunes which by now have become engrained culturally. Songs such as ‘CopperHead Road’ by Steve Earle and ‘Dixieland Delight’ by Alabama and other songs of equal affect echoed down the town's narrow streets. 

Two festival attendees attempting to grunt up some worms! 

Results

Immediately after leaving the festival I was instantly left with the sense that I was charmed by the unique town. I knew that the festival accomplished exactly what I had anticipated, and that was to promote Sopchoppy and its quirky cultural heritage rooted in worm gruntin’. I believe that my attendance and prior research have given me a better understanding of how a cultural tradition and practice could be leveraged to promote an otherwise tourist-less town. The practice of worm gruntin’ itself was highlighted, explained, and clearly cherished by all festival staff. I believe this unique practice is just one example of many southern practices that could be used to promote a smaller town. I would like to take my experience and apply it in Gulf County, particularly to highlight our more rural side and to show how special and peculiar some of our area is as well.

I believe that in my research I relied heavily on the following anthropological concepts, participant observation and cultural relativism. While hopefully highlighting how the festival utilized the practice of worm gruntin’ as symbolism. I believe that I engaged with the festival workers, businesses, and festival goers with my photography in a way that reveals my own participation as well as theirs. 

The Old Train Depot that has been converted into a museum! 

Discussion & Conclusion

While traversing the festival we encountered many individuals who were promoting their small businesses, but time after time, we found that they would lead us towards another business that they felt they should recommend. Above all the participants put community first and lifted each other up. At one booth, if you enjoyed their artwork they might suggest venturing down to another booth with a sign that might compliment their artwork. The sense of community was overwhelming. I believe this sense of community reveals the holistic nature of a cultural practice within a particular community. 

Overall, I am glad that I chose this particular festival to study, as it is a great example of how a community has used an interesting aspect of life from their community and leveraged it to promote their town and county. I believe that this topic could be discussed further with more significance given towards the practice of worm gruntin’ itself or, rather, more precedence given towards the organization of such an event and how a community can cultivate such a “togetherness” as Sopchoppy has. 

Festival Staff were kind and courteous

The Revell family are grunters! 

Some promotional signage.

Festival Merch

One of the many food-trucks that lined Downtown Sopchoppy.