National Peanut Festival ~ A Fair? (Photo Essay)

I do not know what I was expecting when we decided to go to the National Peanut Festival in Dothan, Alabama. The festivals that I have attended in the past have a lot of arts and crafts booths, games, food, and various Festival "theme" booths sat up related to the Festival for educational purposes. For example, the Rattlesnake Roundup (Whigham, Georgia) has various snake pens so the festival goers can watch snake handling, milking of the venom, etc.

 The Peanut Festival is more related to a fair than a Festival. It reminded me of the North Florida Fair held in Tallahassee. In the buildings there were animal "petting" zoos, as well as different contest winners' items (i.e. photography, wreaths, school projects, etc).

Other exhibits included animals, such as camels and llamas, in which you could purchase "food" and "hand feed" them. This was popular with the young and old alike.

 There were plenty of rides to choose from. Jackson really liked the "Bear" ride and "Ballon" ride. He had a little trouble maintaining his seating on the "Bee".

 Of course, everyone has to admire the carousel.

A ride on the Ferris Wheel is a must so one can view the festivities from a great vantage point.

  (small Ferris Wheel)

(Big Ferris Wheel)

There were plenty of games to play. Prior to leaving for this festival, we checked out The Frugal Yankee's article on how to beat the carny games.  The tips in the article paid off and Jackson was able to win his choice of "prizes".

(getting "congratulations" from the "host" of the game)

There was also plenty of food as some local organizations had set up with everything from fried corn on the cob to pork kabobs.  I found this particular booth interesting.  You can go through the "lab" and create your own slushy.

They did have farm equipment on display. Jackson wanted one of these and said he was going to tell Santa to get it for him. He must know a more prosperous Santa than the one I know.

As the afternoon wore on and darkness fell upon the festival, the rides and booths lit up in an array of colors. The temperature started dipping and the crowd grew too much for us to enjoy much more. Regardless of my preconceived idea of "festival" or "fair", we still had a good time and enjoyed our afternoon and evening.  On our way out of the festival, we did pick up fresh pork rinds and boiled peanuts to enjoy on the ride home.