FAISON — Imagine driving by a neighboring farm in town and envisioning your favorite event coming to life in that very space. That’s how Tara Creek started its rodeo and event center.
The land on Robert Hobbs Road was an operating turkey farm. The Graham family felt like they wanted something more. Soon, they found that they wanted to craft an event space.
Husband and wife Amanda and Lee Graham grew up in Duplin County. Both of their families were farmers and they knew that they wanted to start their own farm to grow their business and family. When it came to a space where poultry was raised and selling hay was a part of the operation, they found that they needed something else to help pay the bills and mortgage.
Starting in October of 2020, Tara Creek held weddings and private events for people interested and grew into the event space for even more functions. Since then, they have hosted over 20 weddings and expanded into more celebratory events like birthday parties, corporate events, and quinceaneras. The main attraction, barrel racing and rodeos, took hold in 2021.
One of the most important blessings for Amanda and Lee is their children. Their daughter, Scarlett, was showing and riding horses which coincided with their interest in growing Tara Creek. The family traveled outside the county for horse competitions.
“They decided to build her a horse arena,” said Marketing and Operations Director Amy Turner. There is nothing like it around.
Someone passing through recommended that they use the space as a place to host barrel racing. Sponsorship, local support, and huge prize money has brought them to the big leagues and brought more possibilities to life.
“Our stock contractor is one of the best in the business. He absolutely puts on a phenomenal show,” said Turner. The process is thrilling and rising in professional popularity too. “We get riders from all over the country that come and ride, whether it be bareback or barrel racing or the actual bull riders,” she said.
Lee Graham understood lifestyles within entertainment and farming — especially when it came to keeping smiles on people’s faces and maintaining properties. He wants everyone coming through the door to feel like family. Graham, along with farming, has a live event background. As a wedding DJ from ages 16 to 35, he knew how to put on a show.
“We knew what we wanted to do. We watched hundreds of weddings so we knew how to put weddings on,” Graham said. They have specialized care and equipment to transform the space into what it is for any event. When it comes to ticketed events, they are always prepared to make sure the grounds are ready. “We’ll spend most of the day before an event just applying water to that arena,” he said.
“Someone asked ‘Where did you all get your dirt from?’ And Turner replied, ‘Jesus gave it to us.’” In the horse world, the ground for competitions has to be in pristine condition.
“You will not find a weed in it. It gets turned and rotated a lot,” she said. The team and family take a lot of pride in the facility.
“We try to take pride in our product. We really prepare for whatever we’re doing — we over prepare and try to provide a really upscale experience for whoever is coming,” Graham said.
Tara Creek is a 50-plus acre blank canvas for people to do with it what they want for events and rentals.
“We’re just providing the infrastructure for someone to come with their ideas and their imagination and make it what they want,” said Graham.
Every detail is acknowledged and perfected to make guests and employees at ease. The pricing is always set to be reasonable for all interested in attending, regardless of economic security. “A lot of thought is put into what we charge and what our food vendors charge,” he said.
WIth 105 riders this year in the barrel races, they aim to keep going. Their goal is to grow it so people think of Faison as a staple for rodeo events and especially think of Tara Creek. The venue can seat up to 3,000 people at the rodeo and barrel racing facility and guarantees to be a safe space for family fun, without the need to travel outside of Duplin County.
“It’s very different than any other sports event you go to. The camaraderie — there’s nothing else like it. I tell everybody they need to experience it (at least) one time,” said Turner.
“I want Duplin County to be known for barrel racing and rodeo and specifically Tara Creek,” said Turner. With outstanding pride and support, it looks like everyone’s along for the ride.
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