Suffolk Virginia Peanut Festival
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Suffolk Peanut Festival
by William Metcalfe
4,000 steps, that’s approximately how many steps I took at the 41st Annual Suffolk Peanut Festival on Airport road outside Suffolk Virginia. The first thing you see once you enter the gates, well you hear it before you see it, is the RIP Tide Monster Truck ride, giving monster truck fans a chance to feel what its like to ride in a real monster truck. While I was watching this truck make its rounds, I guess I was still walking, because I found myself standing in front of a huge sign that read: Create Your Own Hats Here! So, I poked my head around the corner and saw the Rad Hatter http://www.radhatter.com/ . This guy is out of San Diego and makes a living traveling the world making hats for festivals trade show and corporate events. I asked him for a business card and he disappeared for a minute came back and stuck a paper top hat on my head, which wasn’t exactly what I was looking for, but it worked. Further down there was a Chalk art competition in the closing minutes of work, so I was able to witness the determination as the artists put the finishing touches on their pieces.
From there I made my way through the stalls and then the food court area. You never really think about how much you need a full turkey leg until you see a line of perfectly roasted specimens laid out before you. I did not eat any of the festival food. I figured it would be hard to balance a plate of food a drink and a camera so I decided not to risk it. Although there was a lounge in a tent with fan and everything, so I could have gone in there… and a mound of Butterfly chips did look very tempting. But I did good
After a long day of being tempted by all manner of food and having strangers plop hats on my head I thought I’d seen all there was to see at the 41st annual Suffolk Peanut Festival and began to make my way back to the main gate, then I hear engines roar. I do not remember seeing anything that would make such noises so I investigate. I followed the noises to a small dirt track full of twists, turns hills and mud. Not sure how I could have missed something so big and noises I settle in to watch a few vehicles make passes through the course. It looked like some of these were just old daily drivers that someone decided to take off roading, It looked fun. I may have to try that with my Ford Focus when its time to retire her.
This festival had a little bit of everything, rides and games for the little kids there were rides and games for the bigger kids. There was even a display of Tractors and excavators that I witnessed more than one grown man climb up into to get his picture taken. There were Hamburgers Hots dogs “Butterfly Chips”, pizza, TURKEY legs… Pretty much everything you would hope for in a weekend escape. And being a Peanut Festival it wouldn’t be complete without at least one person walking up to you and saying “Want some Peanuts? These nuts are free nuts”