National Peanut Festival wrapping up

DOTHAN, Ala. — One of the biggest events of the year in southeast Alabama is wrapping up this weekend in Dothan as the National Peanut Festival concludes its 10-day run.

The Dothan Eagle reports the festival parade was set for Saturday morning after a oneyear absence due to the coronavirus pandemic. Parade-goers lining the route have a chance to pick up all the peanuts they can carry. Gates will be open until midnight with a demolition derby, live music and fireworks.

The regional fair will conclude Sunday.

Dothan is known as the “Peanut Capital of the World,” and the peanut festival dates back to 1938. The festival website says Tuskegee University scientist George Washington Carver was the speaker that inaugural year.

The festival wasn’t held in the early 1940s because of World War II, but it resumed in 1947 and had been held each year since until 2020, when it was canceled because of COVID-19. Free COVID-19 vaccines were available daily on the fairgrounds this year.