Erik Kloecker, last National Sword Swallowers Day at Ripley's in Gatlinburg, TN

Sword Swallowers Association and Ripley’s Believe It or Not! pay homage to the art of sword swallowing with free shows on Saturday, February 23rd.

More than 20 sword swallowers will be “dropping swords” at Ripley’s Believe It or Not! around the world. Sword swallower Erik Kloecker will show off his amazing sword swallowing skills at a free performance outside of the Myrtle Beach Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Odditorium, located at 901 North Ocean Blvd.

“We established World Sword Swallower’s Day to honor this ancient art and recognize the few people in the world who can do this," explains Dan Meyer, a sword swallower whose amazing feats  have been chronicled by Ripley’s Believe It or Not!.  “We also raise awareness of the contributions sword swallowers have made to the fields of medicine and science and raise money for esophageal cancer research [...] Sword swallowers were a big part of the very first Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Odditorium at the Chicago World’s Fair in 1933, there, three performers, two of whom were women, mesmerized the huge crowds. Ripley’s has been home to sword swallowers around the world ever since.”

-Tim O’Brien, VP of Communications for Ripley Entertainment Inc.

The show will start at 1:30 pm with an official “swallow” at 2:23:13 p.m. to coincide with the 2/23/13 date.