On June 25, more than 100 members of the Garden & Gun Club gathered for the first Secret Society Weekend at Blackberry Farm near Walland, Tennessee. The event was meant to be a celebration of Southern culture, a sensory overload of food, wine, art, and music that would feel like the pages of Garden & Gun brought to life—and by all accounts it was.

Highlights of the weekend included a lively panel on Southern art with Julia Reed, Bill Dunlap, and John Alexander; a hilarious performance by spoken-word artist Minton Sparks; a wine-tasting with vintner Thomas Brown; and a rousing concert by the Punch Brothers that continued into the wee hours of the morning. But the real star of the weekend may have been the food. From fried pork barbecue pies to a summer bean stew to a cheesecake made with Blackberry’s own blue cheese, Chef Joseph Lenn and his talented crew just kept rolling out their fantastic creative takes on Southern cuisine.  

Throw in some shooting, fly fishing, and hiking in the Smokies, and it made for a memorable weekend—and proof that Southern culture is on the rise. Click here to see a few photographs. And if you want to join us next year, click here to learn more about the Garden & Gun Club’s Secret Society.