Peanut Butter Festival returns October 28

Published 3:00 am Thursday, October 12, 2017

The Peanut Butter Festival in Brundidge celebrated 25 years for two years in a row but now it’s moving forward. On Saturday, October 28, the Brundidge Historical Society will host the 26th Annual Peanut Butter Festival, a harvest and heritage celebration.

Chris Foster, BHS president, said the Peanut Butter Festival celebrates the town’s proud heritage in the peanut butter industry and pays tribute to the little nut that made it all possible.

“And, we certainly honor our farmers and all members of the agricultural community,” Foster said. “Farmers feed American and we want to show our appreciation to our local farmers and honor our proud heritage as an agricultural community.”

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The Peanut Butter Festival recognizes that not all “runners” are peanuts so it kicks off each year with the 5K Peanut Butter Run at 8 a.m. at Green’s Antiques followed by the Goober Walk at 8:30.

Then, all the day’s activities are downtown on the grounds of the historic Bass House.

The non-stop entertainment will kick off at 9 a.m. with the Benton Brothers & Company, followed by The Harris Brothers and The Shiloh Mountain Boys. In the afternoon, the old-time gospel group, Unity will take center stage and will be joined by Friends of Gospel Music.

Foster said anyone who enjoys country, bluegrass, front porch and old-time gospel music will want to come and stay all day.

The Tupper Lightfoot Memorial Library will present a Visit with George Washington Carver, the Father of the Peanut, in the children’s library throughout the morning.

“We’ll also have arts, crafts, festival foods and demonstrators, including a mule-drawn cane mill, peanuts boiling in the pot and corn roasting on the spit and chickens on the grill,” Foster said. “Of course, we’ll have kids’ games and contests for braggin’ rights. It’s a big deal to win the hog and chicken calling contests.”

Vendor booths are $45 for arts and crafts and $80 for food booths. To reserve a booth, call 334-344-0639.

The “Church Ladies” at Mt. Olive are sponsoring the Peanut Butter Recipe Contest. The rules are a half-cup of peanut butter and the guarantee that, like peanut butter, it’s gooder than grits. Prizes will be awarded in a variety of categories. To enter the Peanut Butter Recipe Contest call 334-482-4583.

The BHS will have its sample booth with peanut butter and everything from dill pickles and pimento cheese and to fried “baloney.” The booth will also have samples of fried peanuts and Mama’s old fashion pickles.

At 1 p.m. on festival day, Main Street is the scene of the Nutter Butter Parade, a parade of nutty people, nutty things and nuts.

“It’s an anything goes parade and we invite everyone who feels like a nut to parade with us,” Foster said. “We are encouraging all communities in Pike County to have an entry in the parade that relates to their heritage or the character of their community.”

The reserve a spot in the Nutter Butter Parade, contact Claudia Butler at 334-735-2168.