Are you ready to go bananas? The 13th annual National Banana Pudding Festival is coming up next month, October 1 – 2, at the Hickman Ag Pavilion in Centerville.
The event starts at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 1 on Mable’s Front Porch Stage. Contestants from around the country will go head to head to decide who makes the best banana pudding. As the contestants get going with the pudding competition, Band Angelica will begin performing on the Arena Stage at 10:30 a.m. And between 11:15 a.m. and noon will be the Cook-off Auction. Prize winners will be announced at 1:30 p.m.
The main attraction (after the bake-off and pie-eating competition) is always the Puddin’ Path, where you sample many different flavors and styles of banana pudding (there’s even a “Pudding to Go” tent!). Each of these recipes is created and served by volunteers from one of the area’s non-profit organizations.
A few of the pudding flavors
- Banana Moon Pie Pudding
- Puddin’ and Pearls
- Banana Split Pudding
- The Chisel with Oreos
- Chocolate and Peanut Butter
- Laffy Taffy
- White Chocolate and Caramel
- Belle’s Best
- Salted Caramel
A few of the nonprofits participating
- Duck River United Methodist Charge
- Centerville Women’s Club
- Fairfield Church of Christ Youth
- several Relay for Life teams
- East Hickman High School Culinary Arts Department
- Shady Grove United Methodist Church
- Children’s Tumor Foundation
“Little Nanners” area & more
The festival’s “Little Nanners” kids area has rides, inflatables and other carnival-like activities for the small fry, and there is Banana Land for older kids. Also, the Runaway Puppet theater performs for the kiddies on Sunday.
Other activities include a village of craft booths with some of the finest craft artists in the country. In addition, hear live music performed throughout both days from Roger Day, Junction Drive, Muletown Stompers, Travis Tidwell Band, The Keepers, Marcia Alexander and Friends and Charlie Fink and the Businessmen.
The National Banana Pudding Festival takes place at the Hickman Ag Pavilion in Centerville, TN near the Grinder’s Switch Railway Station. The hours of the event are Saturday, Oct. 1 from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m. and Sunday from Oct. 2, 12 until 5 p.m. Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for kids five to 12, $8 for the Pudding Path, and $8 for “Puddin’ to Go” boxes.
Additional information is available on their website at bananapuddingfest.org, by phone 931-994-6273, or by email at info@bananapuddingfest.org.
