Saturday night, crowds of people will be dancing in the streets of Brooklet after enjoying the day at the 22nd Annual Peanut Festival.
The festival, organized each year by members of the Brooklet Community Development Association, will be held this Saturday from 7 a.m. until 10:30 p.m. in downtown Brooklet. To kick start the event, people will be up and running at 7 a.m. as the 5K Peanut Run/Walk gets underway. Then, at 10 a.m., a parade through downtown Brooklet will showcase dozens of entries, including each of the Brooklet Peanut Princesses crowned at the Brooklet Peanut Festival Pageant held on Aug. 6.
The parade also will include a number of antique tractors, many of which will enter the Slow Tractor Race. The object of the race is to see how slow the tractors can go without choking and stalling. A kiddie pedal-tractor race will precede the Slow Tractor Race, and it begins at noon.
The festival traditionally draws a large crowd, with visitors from all over the state. There will be plenty of food vendors offering yummy snacks like shrimp, mini donuts, barbecue, pancakes, ice cream and lemonade, homemade soda pop, blooming onions, kettle corn, funnel cakes and, of course, peanuts of every imaginable kind — boiled, roasted, Cajun flavored, fried and baked into treats.
A variety of crafts vendors also will be there to present all sorts of items for sale, such as live plants; sand candy; homemade sauces, dips and soup mixes; handmade purses and accessories; clothing; jewelry and more.
Free live entertainment from dance groups, bands, soloists, choirs and a DJ will be offered all day long, beginning at the conclusion of the parade. Most performances will be held at the big tent/dance floor/rest area at the festival site.
Wrapping up this year’s festival, the street dance will take place from 7–10:30 p.m. as the Tarkington-East Band, from Nashville, Tenn., takes the stage to crank out their rock, country and blues-inspired tunes.
For more information on this year’s festival, go to www.brookletpeanutfestival com.