Peanut pickin’ time is Peanut Butter Festival time in Brundidge.

The harvest and heritage celebration is held annually on the last Saturday in October in downtown Brundidge.

“There’s noting pretentious about the Peanut Butter Festival,” said Lawrence Bowden, president of the sponsoring Brundidge Historical Society. “It’s a down-home festival that celebrates the town’s proud heritage in the peanut butter industry and the harvest season.”

Bowden said the Brundidge Historical Society invested all the money in its coffer, $46, and took out a small loan at First National Bank to fund the first Peanut Butter Festival 22 years ago.

“The Festival is still going strong and we’ve got a great one planned for this year,” he said. “We’re got all of the favorite events and activities and we’re bringing back some of the events from the past – the Joe the Dog Contest, which will be Sunday afternoon at the Knox Ryals Pavilion, the construction of Alabama’ Largest PB&J sandwich, the greasy pig and goat dressing contests and the street dance. So, it’s going to be more fun than ever.”

The Peanut Butter Festival unofficially begins with the Joe the Dog Contest and officially begins on Wednesday night, Oct. 24 with the Brush Arbor Singing on the grounds of the Bass House. The congregational singing of the old meetinghouse songs is a long-standing Peanut Butter Festival tradition and is sponsored by First National Bank of Brundidge.

The Festival gets off to a running start at 8 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 27 with the 5K Peanut Butter Run at Green’s Antiques. Prizes are awarded in each category of the men’s and women’s divisions. The overall winner of the 5K Peanut Butter Run receives a Larry Godwin original clay “Runner Peanut.”

The Peanut Butter Recipe Contest gets underway at 9 a.m. at Brundidge Station. Categories are cakes, pies, cookies, appetizers and main dishes.

On the Festival grounds at the Bass House, the entertainment begins at 8:30 a.m. and runs non-stop throughout the day.

The Peanut Butter Festival features everything and anything peanut butter, arts and crafts, demonstrations, games, contests, wagon rides and food vendors specializing in Festival foods.

The BHS offers samplings of peanut butter sandwiches made with dill pickles, pimento cheese, fried “baloney” and other foodstuff yet to be named.

The Nutter Butter Parade is a highlight of the Peanut Butter Festival and gets underway at 1 p.m. on Festival day.

“The parade is a fun parade and we invite everyone to be a part of it, either as a participant or one who sits along the parade route and cheers us on,” Bowden said.

Each community is encouraged to have a nutty parade entry that is representative of its character or its history. Sorry, Josie has already staked claim to the moonshine making.

Miss Josie Moonshine will be one of many agricultural queens to grace the parade.

All businesses are asked to find a clever, fun and old-fashioned way to advertise and parade along.

“Clubs, churches, school groups and individuals are invited to participate in the parade,” Bowden said. “We do ask that each entry keep in mind that this is a parade of nutty things and the nuttier the better.”

The Peanut Butter Festival celebrates agriculture, which continues to play a huge role in the local economy and the ties between the city and the rural communities.

“It’s a time of coming together as friends and neighbors for a day of fun and fellowship,” Bowden said.

“We invite everyone to make plans to be a part of the Peanut Butter Festival activities. Admission is free so it’s a free for all.”