NATIONAL CORNBREAD FESTIVAL
› Where: Cedar Avenue from First to Fourth streets, South Pittsburg, Tenn. › When: 9 a.m.-6 p.m. CDT Saturday, April 28; 9 a.m.-5 p.m. CDT Sunday, April 29 › Admission: $7; additional $5 for Cornbread Alley › For more information: nationalcornbread.com
Marking its 22nd year, the National Cornbread Festival is a weekend filled with 70 crafters, kids games, carnival rides, 5K run, tours of historic neighborhoods, tours of Lodge Foundry, live music by 50 acts on the street and in the jamming tent as well as a Nashville songwriters concert in South Pittsburg’s Princess Theatre at 1 p.m. Saturday.
But the real draw is the food. Every conceivable concession is sold along Cedar Avenue. Just Cornbread Alley is reason enough to make the 30-mile drive west of Chattanooga to South Pittsburg. A $5 ticket gets you a plate of nine cornbread dishes, a sample from each of the organizations whose members have cooked that food. And proceeds go back to those nonprofits.
Courageous festivalgoers can compete in cornbread-eating contests, buttermilk-chugging races or a frozen T-shirt contest.
Most important, the festival is home to the prestigious National Cornbread Festival Cook-off. Sponsored by Lodge Cast Iron, Dollywood and Cracker Barrel, the contest features 10 finalists from across the United States.
New this year is a cast-iron collectors tent, hosted by Lodge Manufacturing. You’ll find it beside the Lodge Cast Iron factory store outside the festival gates between 9 a.m. and noon on Sunday.
Bring one favorite piece of cast-iron cookware to show fellow collectors (collectors are responsible for their own cast iron.) Learn about cast-iron history from Lodge historians, participate in trivia contests and compete to win some special, limited-edition items from Lodge. Noncollectors are also welcome.