Cornbread Alley, music, crafts and contests await visitors to South Pittsburg’s National Cornbread Festival.

Cornbread Alley, crafts and contests await visitors to South Pittsburg this weekend

For two days each spring, the number of visitors to small-town South Pittsburg, Tenn., doubles the population when the National Cornbread Festival is held.

This highly popular event, which takes place Saturday-Sunday, April 29-30, offers more than 40 musical acts, a national cornbread cook-off, crafts and food vendors, classic car cruise-in and kids activity area. Plus, there is plenty of good, old-fashioned fun such as a cornbread-eating contest, buttermilk chug, ice cream-eating contest and 5K race.

The highlight of every year’s festival is the National Cornbread Cook-Off, sponsored by Lodge Cast Iron. It’s a search of the nation for the best original main-dish cornbread recipe.

The winner of this year’s cook-off will be announced Saturday at 5 p.m. at the First Volunteer Stage. Along with the coveted cast-iron skillet crown, the cook-off champ wins $5,000, a 30-inch stainless-steel gas range from FiveStar Professional Cooking Equipment and special gifts from Martha White and Lodge Cast Iron.

The second-place cook wins $1,500 and third-place receives $1,000. The remaining

two finalists w $150.

Country singer Keith Anderson is the featured performer for this year's Cornbread Festival. Appropriately, his latest song is “I’ll Bring the Music,” which is just what he’ll do.

His 2005 debut CD, “Three Chord Country and American Rock & Roll,” notched two Top 10 hits, “Pickin Wildflowers” and “Every Time I Hear Your Name,” along with two Top 30 singles, “XXL” and “Podunk.”

He is a talented songwrit er whose song “Lost In This Moment” was a No. 1 hit for Big & Rich, and garnered Anderson CMA and ACM nominations for Song of the

Year. He co-wrote “Beer Run” for Garth Brooks and George Jones, “The Bed” for Gretchen Wilson and “Barn Burner” for Jason Michael Carroll.

Tours of historic homes in South Pittsburg and of Lodge Cast Iron Factory are being held this weekend in conjunction with the festival.

And don’t leave town without making a trip through Cornbread Alley. A $5 ticket entitles you to a taste of nine cornbread dishes homemade by community organizations of South Pittsburg. All proceeds raised at Cornbread Alley benefit local nonprofits.

For a full schedule of events, check the website: nationalcornbread.com.

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO Country singer Keith Anderson will perform Saturday at 6 p.m. at the National Cornbread Festival. Crowds fill the street at the festival. Angela Harris lifts hush puppies out of the fryer in Cornbread Alley at the 2016 National Cornbread Festival.

STAFF FILE PHOTOS Cornbread is served in a variety of recipes at the annual spring festival.

Tom Gracy checks out the 1951 McCormick tractor that was displayed at last year’s National Cornbread Festival.