It began in 1992 with Ricky Scaggs and has, through the years, included some of the biggest names in country music, including Tammy Wynette (1994), Toby Keith (1999), Phil Vassar (2006) and Little Big Town (2009).

Every year on the first Sunday in October, Lancaster County becomes the country music capital of the world with the annual I105 WIOV Turkey Hill Fallfest.

"It's a great day," said Rich Creeger, program director for the Ephrata-based WIOV and its sister station, WCAT FM-Red in Harrisburg.

For the second year, Creeger is  overseeing the behind-the-scenes events at Fallfest, being held at  Overlook Community Campus in Manheim Township.

Tickets are free and can be picked up at Turkey Hill Minit Markets. They are not available at Fallfest on Sunday.

Why is Fallfest, which draws about 40,000 people every year, so popular?

"It's a great time for families, and it's free," Creeger, 46, said. "How often do you get to take your family to a free concert with top artists? Even the parking is free."

This year, Gretchen ("Redneck Woman") Wilson headlines, with Jake Owen, Jerrod Niemann, The Band Perry and Josh Gracin.

"It started as and continues to be a listener appreciation party," said Creeger, who is also the drive-time DJ at WIOV from 3 to 7 p.m. weekdays. "The great thing about country music fans is that they are very faithful listeners."

It will be a long day for Creeger and all the other radio station employees who work Sunday. Gates open to the public at 8 a.m. The performances begin at noon and will end about 6 p.m.

"I'll be getting up around 4, taking a shower and getting to the venue by 5," said Creeger.

He said market manager Bob Adams and promotions director Jen Carlson "are two very essential  people who make the whole thing work the way it does."

Creeger makes sure everything goes smoothly for the artists.

"They will be coming in early, so I'll be helping with the load-in," he said. "I'll be meeting with their reps, setting up meet and greets, making sure they are all taken care of with catering."

The color guard arrives at 11:30.

"It's pretty much out of our hands at that point," Creeger said. "It goes and runs itself at that point."

And how does that happen?

"After 19 years, the people who attend the show know what's going on, and the people behind the show know," he said. "They are really great people behind the scenes. They pass their knowledge down."

While it's a long day, Creeger said it's fun.

"It's a lot of work, but with a great pay-off to get out there and see how the crowd reacts. People are having a great experience. Get your family, bring some lawn chairs and see some great country music."

This will be Creeger's fifth Fallfest since coming to WCAT and WIOV in 2006.  

He grew up in New Cumberland, but left the area when he was 17. 

"I was working at Gilley's, where 'Urban Cowboy' had been set," he said. "I fell in love with country music, and radio began to look like a viable option."

A friend owned a station in Coolidge, Ariz., and Creeger got his first radio gig there in 1986.

"I work hard, which makes up for my lack of talent," Creeger said with a laugh. "I've never done anything since."

In 2006, he took a job at WCAT, as  morning show DJ, switching over to WIOV 11/2 years ago. He does the programming for both stations. 

What brought him back to the area?

Love. Specifically, love for Fran Garcynsky, his high school sweetheart.

"I never forgot her," he said. "I wondered what she was doing, and I had turned 40 and I thought, I have to find out what happened to her."

He went on Classmates.com, found her name and sent her an e-mail.

"It took me four days to compose it," he said. "She wrote back right away. She was single, I was single. It turned out to be a wonderful thing."

The couple married on July 7, 2007, at 7:07 p.m.

"Can you guess what our lucky number is?" he asked with a chuckle.

The couple lives in York and has five kids between them, with her three and his two.

"Four of them are in college right now," he said.

Work on Fallfest is pretty much a yearlong process.

"It begins right after (the current) one ends," Creeger said. "We start searching for acts. The goal is to get a great headliner, and then everything else falls into place."

Fallfest has a terrific track record of catching talent on the way up.

"Kenny Chesney played Fallfest in 1997," Creeger said. "He was the third act on the bill, and he had a full head of hair back then."

Taylor Swift sang the national anthem when she was 11 and then appeared in 2006, low on the bill. (Phil Vassar was the headliner that year.)

Creeger is excited about seeing Gretchen Wilson.

"We wanted her last year, but she was unattainable," he said. "But this year, she was the first person I checked into, and she was available, so I immediately went after her."

He's impressed with the rest of the lineup, too.

"The Band Perry was named CMA Vocal Group of the Year,  and a year ago nobody ever heard of them. Jerrod Niemann has one of the best new albums out there and a number one hit. He's got the potential to do a lot bigger things some day," Creeger said. "We're thrilled with the lineup."

jholahan@lnpnews.com