Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Labor Day begins early in Luverne, Alabama, the Friendliest City in the South and the site of the World’s Largest Peanut Boil.

The labor of boiling 30 tons of green peanuts was set to begin early today, Wednesday, with the first batches of the boiled peanuts to come off tonight around 8:30 or 9 o’clock.

And, if Shriner Kirk Alsbrooks is correct, connoisseurs of the boiled goobers will be standing in wait

From that time until the last bag of peanuts is sold, the Crenshaw County Alcazar Shriners will be hustling to keep up with the demand.

“We’ll boil all 30 tons of the best peanuts available to us,” Alsbrooks said. “We get the peanuts out of Jay, Florida and you can’t get any better peanuts anywhere. Like I said, the first batch will come off around 8:30 tonight (Wednesday) and then every three and a half to four hours until they’re gone.”

Alsbrooks said usually the boiled goobers don’t last until Labor Day.

“Most of the time, they’re gone on Sunday, but you just never know,” he said. “It just depends.”

The cost of a bag the World’s Best Boiled Peanuts is $5 for a small bag and $10 for a large.  A 40-pound sack is $100 or a 40-pound sack of green goobers is $80.

In times past, the Shriners had roasted peanuts but the parched nuts are no longer available.

In order not to get caught between batches, it is advisable to visit the Crenshaw County Alcazar Shrine Club’s website. If you do get caught, the fellowship is good so the wait is not so long and the goobers will be even better.