On Oct. 29, someone on Old Hickory Lake starts fishing for the largest first-place check professional bass fishing has ever offered. That's $1,250,000 out of a $3.25 million purse. The fish get weighed at Sanders Ferry Park, the same Hendersonville park where people launch johnboats on a Tuesday. World Bass Enterprises says admission to the three days of competition is free as long as you register in advance.
The rest of the late-October calendar works the same way. Over the ten days from Oct. 22 to Nov. 1, three city parks host back-to-back events. Most of the money changes hands at night or in Nashville. The daytime events in Hendersonville's parks are free.
Pig Fest's Paid Nights Pay for a Free Saturday
Pig Fest returns to Veterans Park at 144 Scotch Street Oct. 22 to 24. Hendersonville Parks and Recreation runs it with help from HolidayFest of Sumner County. Parks Director Andy Gilley told the Hendersonville Standard that it started "out of necessity" in 2020 to save Christmas 4 Kids during the pandemic. Last year it raised $74,000 for local charities and schools. This year's beneficiaries are Mary's Magical Place, Grace Place and Christmas 4 Kids.
The first two nights carry the ticket price. According to the city's Eventbrite listing, general admission is $20, kids under 12 get in free, and 100 VIP tickets at $100 include the concert, a catered tent, a hat and a T-shirt.
- Thursday, Oct. 22: Gates open at 4 p.m. and the silent auction opens at 4:30. Steak dinner is at 5:30, and the live auction starts at 6. Jeff Jarrett's All-Star Super Slam rings its opening bell at 7. The Standard notes this is only Jarrett's second appearance in his hometown, and it marks his 40th year in professional wrestling.
- Friday, Oct. 23: Gates open at 5 p.m. and the Hometown Jam Kickoff Concert starts at 6. Diamond Rio headlines, joined by Hendersonville's own Jesse Keith Whitley, Tim Watson, Eric Blakenship and DJ Cliffy D, plus newcomer Julianna Rankin. The park closes to the public at 11 p.m.
- Saturday, Oct. 24: Free and open to the public from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Awards are at 3:30 at the Judges' Pavilion.
Saturday is the event the festival is named for. More than 50 cook teams compete in five categories for $10,000 in prize money. Gilley says teams now come from all over the Southeast. The day also has live pig races, a Kids Zone with bounce houses, a cornhole tournament, a par-3 contest, food trucks and college football on the big screen.
This year also adds a pickleball tournament hosted by Dinkville. It's the first tournament on the city's new pickleball courts, so if you haven't seen the courts in use yet, Saturday is a good chance.
Veterans Park Stays Busy Through the Following Week
When the smokers leave, Veterans Park stays booked. The city's community calendar lists a Fall Carnival there Oct. 25 to 30. The listing links to a Facebook page and doesn't give an organizer or daily hours, so check that page before you take the kids.
The carnival's last day is Oct. 30, which is also the day the other two parks host their big events.
Why a Record Tournament Landed on a Hendersonville Ramp
World Bass Enterprises is a new company, founded in 2026. The Champions is its first event. Founder and CEO Brian Bird told the Hendersonville Standard in February that the company looked at lakes around Nashville and met with Hendersonville's Parks and Recreation Board before picking Sanders Ferry Park.
The field brings together pros from rival tours. Under the "30v30" format, about 60 anglers take part, 30 from Major League Fishing's Bass Pro Tour and 30 from the Bassmaster Elite Series, fishing the same water under neutral rules. The published rosters include Jacob Wheeler, Ott DeFoe, Justin Lucas and Jesse Wiggins from the MLF side, and Hank Cherry Jr., Jason Christie and Trey McKinney from the Bassmaster side.
Nobody in the field expects Old Hickory to be easy. Lucas won the Bass Pro Tour's Lake Erie finale this season. He told Major League Fishing that coming to Old Hickory means "going from an absolute slugfest to a super tough one." He made one scouting trip before the lake went off-limits to competitors and deliberately didn't catch a bass. He expects anglers to work hard for each of their five scoring fish, and he thinks one or two above-average bites a day could decide a high finish.
All of that pressure ends up on the Sanders Ferry Park stage. On a tough lake, a single heavy fish brought to the scale can move an angler past half the field.
The schedule on the World Bass Enterprises site:
- Oct. 26 to 27: Practice days on Old Hickory Lake.
- Oct. 29: Shotgun start at 7:30 a.m. Round 1 weigh-in at Sanders Ferry Park at 4 p.m.
- Oct. 30: Round 2 weigh-in at Sanders Ferry Park at 4 p.m., then the Top 15 are announced live on stage.
- Oct. 31: The Top 15 fish the Championship Round for the $1.25 million prize.
- Nov. 1: Pro-Am starts from Sanders Ferry Park at 10 a.m., with the Top 15 and celebrities. Weigh-in is at 3:30 p.m.
Both qualifying rounds end with a 4 p.m. weigh-in in the same city park. The tournament's venue page confirms public weigh-in access at Sanders Ferry.
Free at Sanders Ferry, Ticketed in Nashville
The Champions is set up like Pig Fest. The parts that happen in Hendersonville are free. The parts that cost money happen mostly at Gaylord Opryland and The Pinnacle.
At Sanders Ferry Park, 513 Sanders Ferry Road:
- Competition-day admission is free with advance registration.
- The public can watch weigh-ins.
- A three-day fan festival includes kids' activities, a petting zoo, kids' fishing, food trucks, a beer garden and four bands a day.
- The Nov. 1 Pro-Am starts and weighs in here.
In Nashville:
- Opening ceremonies are at Gaylord Opryland on Oct. 28.
- The All Outdoors Expo, with 150,000 square feet of booths, runs 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 29 to 31 at the Gaylord Opryland Convention Center.
- WBE Concert 250 is at The Pinnacle on Friday, Oct. 30: Riley Green headlines and Randy Houser opens.
- A VIP Champions Dinner is at Gaylord Opryland on Oct. 31 at 7:30 p.m.
Championship Day on Oct. 31 also has Trace Adkins singing the National Anthem, an Elektrohorse line-dance party and a Dee Jay Silver set at the Championship Weigh-In. The schedule we've seen doesn't give a time for that weigh-in. It doesn't confirm whether it happens at Sanders Ferry either.
Oct. 30 Puts All Three Parks on the Calendar
| Date | Park | Event | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct. 22 to 23 | Veterans Park | Pig Fest auction, wrestling and concert | $20 GA; under 12 free |
| Oct. 24 | Veterans Park | Pig Fest BBQ competition, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. | Free |
| Oct. 25 to 30 | Veterans Park | Fall Carnival | Not listed |
| Oct. 29 to 30 | Sanders Ferry Park | The Champions weigh-ins, 4 p.m. | Free with registration |
| Oct. 30 | Drakes Creek Park Athletic Complex | Trick or Treat, 6 to 8 p.m. | Free |
| Nov. 1 | Sanders Ferry Park | Pro-Am, 10 a.m. start, 3:30 p.m. weigh-in | Not listed |
Friday, Oct. 30 is the busiest day. The Round 2 weigh-in at Sanders Ferry starts at 4 p.m. and ends with the Top 15 announcement. The Fall Carnival wraps up at Veterans Park. And at 6 p.m., Hendersonville Parks and Recreation opens Trick or Treat at Drakes Creek Park at 131 Conway Twitty Lane.
According to the Hendersonville Register, the Drakes Creek event lines fields 2 through 5 with booths where kids collect treats, play games and win prizes. Families don't need to register or buy tickets. Businesses and organizations can sign up for a booth for $25.
A family could see a weigh-in on the lake in the late afternoon and get to the Drakes Creek fields by 6 p.m. We haven't found traffic or parking plans for either event, though, so leave some extra time if you try it.
What Hasn't Been Announced
As of Oct. 10, 2026, we haven't found a published parking or shuttle plan for Pig Fest or for the tournament week at Sanders Ferry. We also haven't seen fan-festival hours, and we haven't found any notice about public use of the Sanders Ferry boat ramp during the event. If you usually launch there in late October, it may help to know other public ramps on the lake. When the Army Corps of Engineers closed the Rockland Recreation Area ramp for repaving in August, it listed Walton Ferry, Mallard Point, Saundersville and Stark Knob as alternatives.
Organizers will post updates on pigfesttn.com, worldbassenterprises.com and the City of Hendersonville calendar. Bookmark all three before Oct. 22.
At Jetton Real Estate, we love seeing Sumner County's parks full, whether it's for barbecue that supports local charities or a national championship weighed in on our own lakeshore. If you have questions about life near Old Hickory Lake or anywhere around Hendersonville, our team would be glad to talk. Contact Us anytime.
