Yall ever hear of the Foot Wash in UnionTown, Alabama?
Yall ever hear of the Foot Wash in UnionTown, Alabama? | HBCU Sports Forums
Mention Uniontown's Footwash festival in a Black Belt bar and the rumors are bound to start flying. A construction worker at the Red Barn bar in nearby Demopolis said his coworkers knocked off early last Friday to head out of town and avoid the bedlam the annual event was sure to cause. The bartender said she had heard it was a good place to get shot. By day, the majority-African-American occasion seems much like any other large-scale carnival, with hundreds of booths, stands and trailers offering food, drinks and shopping to the thousands of people from across the country it draws to the tiny, rural community each year. After the sun sets, however, Footwash quickly devolves into a more R-rated scene, defined by a permissive, anything-goes attitude. It's this after-hours version of the event that has earned it the reputation of being a seedy, dangerous affair. From open-air gun and drug markets to gambling and prostitution dens, tall tales about what Footwash has to offer run the illicit gamut.
The difference between a foot washing and the Footwash
Thousands of people flock to the Footwash festival in Uniontown each September to enjoy its anything-goes party atmosphere while keeping a year-old African-American tradition alive. There seems to be some confusion within the state concerning foot washing. I was watching a live call-in show out of Montgomery last week when a debate broke out because a caller suggested the host go with him to the next Footwashing. The host was game.
There is an event that takes place in Uniontown, AL on the fourth weekend of September last weekend called Footwash. It takes place in an old cow pasture. Eventually the church folks that were responsible for the event all passed away and the new generation turned it into something. I can only imagine they still call it Footwash because you have to wash your feet after you leave from walking around in that dirty and often muddy pasture. You heard me.