DOBSON — The dessert dish known as the sonker isn’t the only food item with roots firmly “grounded” in Surry County. There is also the ground steak sandwich that will be celebrated at an upcoming event.
“It really is a Surry County thing,” Coordinator Travis Frye of the Dobson Tourism Development Authority is fond of saying.
The unique sandwich will be the focus of the second-annual North Carolina Ground Steak Festival, which the tourism group will host on June 8 in downtown Dobson from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., with admission free.
It also will feature live music and other attractions, including activities for kids.
More than 7,000 people attended the inaugural event in 2023, according to Frye.
Of course, ground steak sandwiches take center stage at the namesake festival, notably served up by members of the Flat Rock Ruritan Club along with the Dobson Central Cafe.
The ground steak treats have for years been a specialty of the Ruritan Club, which has offered the sandwiches during the annual Mount Airy Autumn Leaves Festival.
These have developed such a following that many people attend the Mount Airy event just to eat them. The Dobson gathering now enables this opportunity in a festival setting twice annually.
The history of the ground steak sandwich, which can be described as a first cousin to the hamburger, dates to the Great Depression, based on information from Leah Hughes King, who helps promote the festival in Dobson.
Cooks with limited resources got more out of the ground beef by boiling or browning the meat, adding flour and water (or milk) and seasoning that mix with salt and pepper, King related.
They then placed the tender, loose-meat patty on a bun and topped it with mayonnaise, slaw and tomato.
Ground steak sandwiches have been a fixture in local homes for generations and also can now be found at restaurants in Surry County’s four municipalities and rural areas.
This is especially the case with 11 locally owned restaurants making up what’s known as the Ground Steak Trail, similar to the Sonker Trail highlighting that item.
However, the sandwiches’ reach doesn’t extend far beyond Surry’s boundaries.
Frye says this provides the ground steak phenomenon a unique place in area history in addition to its distinction in the state as evidenced by the Dobson event being known as the North Carolina Ground Steak Festival.
Other attractions
Bluegrass and old-time music will also be part of the upcoming festival, which included about a dozen groups performing last year from the amphitheater of Dobson Square Park.
Attendees are invited to bring blankets, lawn chairs and dancing shoes to enjoy the music from local bands.
More than 75 artisans and handmade crafters additionally were part of the initial event, who also will have a big presence this year.
Craft items for sale are to include wood carvings, quilts, honey, jewelry, beaded leather, pottery, aprons and soaps.
Multiple food vendors plan to serve a variety of festival favorites in addition to ground steak.
In the interest of full disclosure, this will include sonkers sold by members of the Surry County Historical Society.
“We really want to share the story of Surry County, through culinary, music and craft,” Frye said in a statement.
“After that first bite of a ground steak sandwich, we hope people come back for more.”
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