Sorghum Day - John Lively Memorial Run
Always double-check with the organizer's website! This page may contain affiliate links.
Sorghum Day - John Lively Memorial 5K Run
The Wewoka Sorghum Festival celebrates the tradition of making sorghum molasses and the cultural history of Wewoka. The festival began in 1976 with support from the Seminole Nation Museum and the Wewoka Rotary Club and typically draws crowds of over 25,000 to downtown Wewoka on the fourth Saturday in October.
The 2026 event marks the 32nd running of the John Lively Memorial 5K race held on the morning of the festival. The race course is a USATF certified 5K that starts and finishes at the Seminole Nation Museum on Wewoka Avenue in downtown Wewoka. After the race, participants proceed to festival activities a few blocks away.
Registration details state a pre-registration fee of $30 and a race day fee of $35. The first 50 entrants receive race t-shirts. Awards include trophies for the top three overall male and female finishers and medals for the top three males and females in each USATF age group, with age group competition extending to 70 and over.
Festival activities on the museum grounds and in downtown Wewoka include over 150 craft and food booths, a car show, a parade, an art and photography show, a mule-powered mill demonstrating sorghum juice extraction and syrup cooking, historic reenactors and artisans, and regional food offerings such as Indian Fry Bread with hot sorghum. Visit the organization's website for the most recent information.