Published: October 15, 2009 04:01 pm      

Whitesboro Chamber goes nuts for festival

Head for the Whitesboro Peanut Festival this Saturday for fun for all ages. Kid Alley, a car show, contests and competitions, gospel music and main stage entertainment will start at 8 a.m. and go until 5 p.m.

Whitesboro Chamber or Commerce President Melody Jackson said the parade and the festival’s entertainment and food is what draws people to the event year after year.

The parade starts at 10 a.m. and Jackson said there will be 30-40 floats and groups that participate.

The Sherman Fire Department will be the Honor Guard for the parade.

Jackson said the carnival has rides for kids, teenager and adults and there will be almost 200 vendors with different items including painted pumpkins, jewelry, candles, kids stuff, peanut brittle and candy, face painting, clothing, handbags, lotions, tee shirts and flip flops.

The main stage entertainment will feature the Billy Autry Band and J.W. Hardin and the Wild Bill Cody Band.

Scheduled activities for the main stage start at 9 a.m. with a yoga presentation and a Tai Quan Do presentation will follow at 9:15 a.m.

Contests and competitions for the kids will take place down at the Trollinger Park and include the nutty hat contest, peanut shelling contest, peanut spittin’ contest and the stick horse race.

Jackson said that every year the festival includes a wheelbarrow race between the junior and senior high Whitesboro school classes.

The St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Men’s Club are doing the cooking hamburgers and hotdogs and homemade sweets down at the car show area. D.J. Tim will also be at the car show.

The Guns of Timber Creek will again be roaming the festival grounds entertaining with their simulated gun fights and western rangling.

The Raffle drawing is scheduled to take place at 5 p.m. and people do not need to be present to win.

The raffle tickets are $50 each and can be purchased at the Whitesboro Chamber of Commerce prior to the event and at the chamber information booth and some of R-Pods set up on the day of the festival.

The raffle prizes are an R-Pod (a little RV) from RV Max in Whitesboro, a 50 inch plasma TV and $500 worth of camping gear.

Jackson said that some events have moved to a new location this year.

The food court and Kid Alley will be at Trollinger Park and the car show will take place at Godwin Park.

Jackson said attendees will have access to transportation this year.

She said the Gordonville Fire Department has made a people-mover to help take people back and forth from downtown where the vendors are to the car show at Godwin Park.

Jackson said that attendees parking their cars at Whitesboro High School or Whitesboro Middle School will have transportation to the festival grounds and back to their cars throughout the day, thanks to TAPS.

Jackson said the Peanut Festival was started in 1965 for the local peanut farmers.

“We’ve been going strong for 44 years,” Jackson said.

For more information about the Whitesboro Peanut Festival go to the Whitesboro Chamber of Commerce website or call (903) 564-3331.