Peanut Fest 2017

SUFFOLK NEWS-HERALD

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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2017 | 1

Peanut Fest 2017

Wednesday, October 4, 2017

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Have a great fest Bring on Mr. Peanut!

In fact, bring on all the peanutty awesomeness that the Suffolk Peanut Fest can throw at us. After missing the festival because of Hurricane Matthew last year, we’re ready for it to be bigger and better than ever.

Once again, the Suffolk NewsHerald will have a tent onsite, where we’ll be producing the weekend editions of the newspaper, chatting with readers and generally enjoying the vibe.

A couple of years ago, we actually had a reporter who was allergic to peanuts and afraid of Mr.

Peanut, to boot. Needless to say, she was no big fan of our Peanut Fest Mobile Newsroom.

She won’t be with us this year, so feel free to drop in and bring all the peanuts you want. We’ll even help you eat ‘em.

And while you’re out and about, we’d love to share your photos on our Facebook gallery. Just be sure to “like” our page and then use #SNHPeanutFest when you post your photos. We’d love to be able to print a bunch of them in the weekend editions.

Have a great festival, Suffolk.

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Table of Contents Joe Nichols 4-5 Past fest photos 6-7 Mud Jam 8-9 Site Map 10 Schedule 11 Of Zion 12-13 Peanut Queen 14-15 Peanut Princesses 16-17 Peanut Butter Sculpture 18

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Nichols ready for long-delayed performance

BY TRACY AGNEW NEWS EDITOR

Award-winning country music artist Joe Nichols has had quite a year since his would-be performance at last year’s Peanut Festival got canceled — as did the entire festival — by Hurricane Matthew.

Nichols put out a new record, “Never Gets Old,” on July 23, and the single of the same name has been climbing the charts throughout the summer.

“It’s been a year for the ages,” he said. “I think it’s been a very

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SUBMITTED PHOTO

Multiple-time Grammy nominee Joe Nichols will play at the Suffolk Peanut Festival on Sunday, one year after his 2016 performance was delayed by a hurricane.

busy year in a lot of great ways.

I spent a lot of time away from home finishing out the record, promoting the record.”

Nichols is a multi-time Grammy nominee and won the Academy of Country Music’s Top New Male Vocalist award. He has multiple No. 1 hit and Top-10 singles to his name.

He said the new album is one of his proudest moments.

“It satisfies a need,” he said.

“Front to back, I believe this album is as good as any I’ve done.”

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Nichols: He's waited a year for this show Continued from page 4

Nichols grew up as a country boy. His first performance was in church at age 5, when parishioners were invited to come up and lead the congregation in a song.

Not knowing any better, the youngster chose Conway Twitty’s “Red Neckin’ Lovemakin’ Night,” which “was met with laughter and a very concerned look,” Nichols said.

“I never thought I’d make a career out of it,” he said.

But God had bigger plans for Nichols, and he grabbed every opportunity he could. He moved to Nashville at 20 years old.

“I was intimidated, but I wanted to start learning how the process worked,” he said. “Eventually I knocked on enough doors.”

Nichols got his first record label deal in 1999.

“A lot of people can believe in luck, fortune, whatever it is, but

I believe there is a big plan and if you pray hard enough about it, I started to live it,” he said. “I devoted my entire energy into praying for it and asking for it.

I was truly blessed from above when I was given the opportunity … it might’ve been my performance in church that won Him over,” Nichols joked.

When he hit it big, Nichols was too shocked to really enjoy it at the time.

“There was a lot of validation,” he said. “But I think I felt a little bit of shock that I had finally done something people only dream of, having the No. 1 song in the country. I wish I had at the time slowed down my life a little bit to enjoy it. There’s only one first one, and I wish I could go back and relive all the things I was feeling.”

Nichols treasures the county fair

and harvest festival atmosphere, as it reminds him of his childhood growing up in Arkansas, Missouri and North Carolina.

“I grew up waiting for those times of year so I could go for five bucks and get in and see somebody perform and have fun with my friends,” he said. “It’s very special to me. It brings back memories of the anticipation of the year. I love the atmosphere of the local festivals, the local county fairs, anything that identifies that area that people show pride in.”

Folks can expect a sometimesenergetic, sometimes-serious atmosphere at his Peanut Festival performance.

“I like to keep it like a country dance show — little bit of two-step, little bit of swang and shuffle,” he said with a country twang.

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Mud Jam gets a little dirty

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five classes of monster trucks, including the Street class, the Super Street class, the Super Mod class, the Unlimited class and the Tuff Truck class. The trucks will be flying through 30 inches of mud, and will be competing in obstacle courses, tug-of-wars and more.

Theresa Earles, Peanut Fest

BY ELLA BRONAUGH INTERN

The Suffolk Mud Jam — a springtime event that will join the fall Peanut Fest schedule for the first time this year, will take over the Peanut Fest arena at 1 p.m. Saturday, after Friday’s Demolition Derby.

The Mud Jam is a truck competition and drag race with

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Mud Jam: Bring on the dirty Continued from page 8

publicity director, speaks highly of the Mud Jam. “The trucks are really big, and there’s a lot of mud flying around,” she said in a telephone interview. “The obstacle course has a lot of high-flying action, and it’s a lot of fun to watch.”

The Mud Jam was put on during the spring, and will be appearing again at the Peanut Fest by popular demand.

A group of volunteers plans and promotes the Mud Jam, which was originally conceived as a fundraiser to support the Peanut Fest after a couple of years of rain and hurricanes led to lower attendance and smaller admissions revenues than expected. That first year’s springtime Mud Jam brought such a large audience — around

3,000 people — that it became an annual Suffolk event.

“We had a great attendance that year,” Earles said, “The Mud Jam gets folks outside to enjoy a motorsports event with the family. Everyone gets really excited to watch it.”

The Mud Jam had its second annual spring appearance this April, and this will be the event’s first appearance at the Peanut Fest.

The Mud Jam is likely to attract record-breaking crowds in celebration of the Peanut Fest’s 40 years of Suffolk fun.

“We’re really excited for the entire festival,” Earles said.

“We’ve spent a year planning it, and watching everyone have fun at events like the Mud Jam is why we do it.”

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Those who have been organizing the Mud Jam since the beginning are thrilled to see it draw such enthusiastic crowds.

“The Mud Jam is only getting bigger and better,” Earles said. “Seeing the excitement on everyone’s faces as they watch the event makes all of the hard work worth it. It’s a Suffolk tradition now, and we love contributing to the tradition that the Mud Jam has become for many Suffolk families.”

The Mud Jam, as its name suggests, can get dirty. Attendees might want to wear rubber boots and to come early to get good seats, as the attendance each year is only climbing.

More information on the event can be found at the Suffolk Peanut Fest website.

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Festival Map

1. Site Entrance 2. Red Entrance Tent 3. Blue Entrance Tent 4. Activities Tent 5. City Tent 6. Suffolk Art Gallery tent 7. Suffolk Ruritan Shrimp Feast tent 8. EMS 9. Information Booth 10. Caboose 11. Concessions Court 12. Amusement Rides & Carnival Games 13. Suffolk Peanut Fest Main Stage 14. Festival Office 15. Commercial Exhibits Tent 16. Arts & Crafts Tent 17. Harvest Family Stage 18. Family Area (pony & camel rides, petting zoo, diaper changing tent, etc.)

19. Parking area 20. Parking area 21. Peanut Fest site exit 22. Suffolk Police Headquarters 23. Virginia Festival of Flight (Saturday only)

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Schedule of Events

Admission

Regular admission is $10 per person.

Children 6 and under are free. Cash, debit and credit cards are accepted at the gate.

Thursday is Carload Day. Pay $40 for admission and all-you-can-ride wristbands for up to eight people legally seated in vehicle.

Sunday is Military Appreciation Day. Active and retired military receive half off admission.

Sunday is also wristband day. Wristbands are $30 per person and available on-site only.

Thursday, Oct. 5

2 to10:30 p.m. — Festival Open to Public 3 to 7 p.m. — Suffolk Ruritan Club Shrimp Feast Tickets $35 per person; Entertainment by Gator Head Band 7 p.m. — The Peanut Lounge Entertainment — 70 South

Friday, Oct. 6

10 a.m. to 11 p.m. — Festival Open to Public; Free admission until noon Until noon — Kiddie Day Activities in the Gooberland Family Area Until 1 p.m. — Senior Day Activities in the Activities Tent 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. — Harvest Family Stage Entertainment

410:30 a.m. — Forest Glen Middle School & Lakeland High School Combined Orchestra 411 a.m. — Forest Glen Middle School Band & Chorus 411:30 a.m. — John Yeates Middle School Band & Chorus 4Noon — King’s Fork Middle School Band & Chorus 412:30 p.m. — King’s Fork Middle School & High School Orchestra 41 p.m. — Lakeland High School Cavalier Singers & Bella Voce Chorus 41:30 p.m. — Nansemond River High School High Fidelity Chorus 42 p.m. — King’s Fork High School Chorus 42:30 p.m. — John F. Kennedy Middle School Chorus 43 p.m. — John F. Kennedy Middle School Band 43:30 p.m. — John F. Kennedy Middle School Orchestra Throughout the evening — The Peanut Lounge Entertainment 43 p.m. — Jim Newsom 45 p.m. — Karl Werne 49:30 p.m. — Karl Werne & Friends Throughout the evening — Harvest Family Stage Entertainment 45 p.m. — The Crossover Band 46:15 p.m. — IrieVive Music 47:30 p.m. — Annaya Baker 48:45 p.m. — “Of Zion” Band 6 p.m.— Bingo in the Activities Tent

7 p.m. — Demolition Derby at the Arena Area 9 p.m. — The Deloreans on the Main Stage

Saturday, Oct. 7

10 a.m. to 11 p.m. — Festival Open to Public Bingo in the Activities Tent 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. — Virginia Regional Festival of Flight Presented by the Virginia Aviation Council in conjunction with the Suffolk Peanut Festival Shuttles operating all day 8 to 11 a.m. — Pancake Breakfast 9:15 a.m., 11 a.m., noon, 1 p.m., 2 p.m., 3 p.m., 4 p.m. — Components of Flight Presentations 9:30 a.m., 10 a.m., 11 a.m., noon, 1:30 p.m., 2 p.m., 3 p.m., 4 p.m. — Drones and UAV demonstrations Noon to 5 p.m. — Young Eagles flights 1 p.m. — Mid-Atlantic Mooney Formation Group demonstration

Throughout the day — Harvest Family Stage Entertainment 4Noon — Virginia Fancy Feet 41 p.m. — Dynamic Movements 42 p.m. — Peanut City Cloggers 43 p.m. — Allongé Dance Academy 44 p.m. — Golden Slippers 45 p.m. — Weak Chain Band 46 p.m. — Guilty Fixx 47:15 p.m. — Karaoke Contest (Karaoke by Wayne Umphlett) 1 p.m. — Cornhole Tournament 1 p.m. — Mud Jam at the Arena area 2 p.m. — World’s Only Peanut Butter Sculpture Contest 4 p.m. — Hot Wing Eating Contest 6 p.m. — Hot Wing Eating Contest 6:30 p.m. — Jenny Tolman on the Main Stage 8 p.m. — Lipton Tea Fireworks Extravaganza 8:15 p.m. — Michael Ray on the Main Stage

Sunday, Oct. 8​

10 a.m. — Chalk Art Contest 10:30 a.m. — Cornhole Tournament Registration Throughout the day — The Peanut Lounge Entertainment 411 a.m. — Last Call Band 41 p.m. — H. M. Johnson Band 43 p.m. — Mojo Collins 45 p.m. — Luke Willette & The Show Me Band 49:30 p.m. — Black White & Blues Band

8 a.m. — Suffolk Peanut Fest Motorcycle Rally Registration 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. — Festival Open to the Public Bingo in the Activities Tent 10:45 a.m. — Suffolk Peanut Fest Motorcycle Rally Send-off 2 p.m. — Josh Phillips on the Main Stage 3 p.m. — Harvest Family Stage — Gospel Showcase 3:30 p.m. — Joe Nichols on the Main Stage

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Fest will feature Suffolk band

BY ELLA BRONAUGH INTERN

Local rock, reggae and jam band Of Zion will be right at home when it performs at the Peanut Fest at 8:45 p.m. on Friday.

Nic Robertson, guitarist and singer, said returning to Suffolk to perform at the Peanut Fest was only natural, considering all of the band’s members are Suffolk natives.

“It’s our hometown,” Robertson said by phone recently. “It’s where we grew up. Every October everyone would look

forward to the Peanut Fest.

Friends would get together, and it would always be a good time. The whole community comes together.”

The band currently has four members: Nic Robertson; Brian Thomas, bass guitarist; Jo Smith, drummer; and Brandon Mathis, lead guitarist.

Originally known as Prophets of Zion, the band performed its first show at the NorVa, drawing a crowd of around 3,000 people.

“We were received really well, and we then went on

to play a lot more shows with several national acts,” Robertson said.

Of Zion has performed with nationally recognized artists including Hawaiian reggae musician Mike Love, Canadian rapper K’Naan and The Original Wailers, a rockreggae group.

The band has been working on a new album recently, and it recently released two singles, “Carry Me Home” and “Learning.”

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Zion: Coming home Continued from page 12

At the start of 2015, Robertson began abusing drugs and alcohol and was eventually checked into a rehabilitation program for 14 months. It was during this time that he wrote the songs on the album “Resurrection.”

“I want to convey messages of hope,” Robertson said.

“You can get through whatever you’re going through. Writing songs like that can be very therapeutic.”

He changed the name of his band from Prophets of Zion to Of Zion after this experience.

“Of Zion is meant to represent the promised land — heaven,” he said.

In 2015, Of Zion won the New Artist of the Year Award and the Band of the Year Award from the Virginia Reggae Awards group.

The band is looking forward to its Peanut Fest performance.

“We’re really excited,” Robertson said. “It’s been a long time since we’ve done a show in Suffolk. We’re hoping it will be an uplifting, happy experience. We’re excited to share our music with our hometown crowd. We hope everyone comes out and has a great time.”

Of Zion will be performing with jazz artist Adam Irving and rapper Shane Dollar.

Fans of Of Zion can find their music on Facebook.com/ SUBMITTED PHOTO OfZionMusic.

Suffolk's Nic Robertson, Brian Thomas, Jo Smith and Brandon Mathis make up the band Of Zion, which will play on Friday at Peanut Fest.

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Glover is Peanut Queen

BY TRACY AGNEW NEWS EDITOR

Suffolk Christian Academy senior Katie Glover was named the 2017 Peanut Festival Queen during the Queen’s Banquet on Sept. 28.

Glover said she was surprised that she had earned the honor, since there was a very talented pool of candidates from which to choose. The princesses, nominated from each of the city’s five high schools, were judged by a committee based on academic achievement, extracurricular involvement and community service, an essay on the Peanut Festival theme and an on-stage answer to a question during the banquet.

“I was really surprised,

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because all the other princesses, they’re all extremely involved in school and they’re really nice and they gave great answers, too,” Glover said the day after the banquet.

Glover is especially excited to represent the Peanut Festival, since she comes from a farming family that grows peanuts.

“My dad was a farmer for a very long time right before I was born, and my granddad is a farmer still,” she said. “It kind of makes it special to know that it’s the family thing that we can celebrate the peanut.”

Glover has been attending Suffolk Christian Academy since she was in kindergarten. She is on the volleyball, basketball and See QUEEN, 15

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Queen: From a peanut family Continued from page 14

softball teams and this year is a captain of the basketball and softball teams. If she had to pick a favorite sport, it would be basketball, she said.

She’s also the Student Government Association president, is president of the Beta Club and is involved in the InterAct community service club as well as the Unity Club, which seeks to make sure everyone at the school is getting involved.

She is also involved in the youth group at her church, First Baptist Church Main Street, and she has been on several mission trips with the group, including one to South Carolina last summer.

Glover’s goal is to attend Christopher Newport University and then attend law school to become a lawyer. She has done internships with a public defender’s office as well as with a private law firm.

“I enjoyed going into the courtroom and seeing the different cases and different ways I can help them,” she said. “There’s so many things that go on right now that I don’t see as right and fair, so if I were to get involved

I could maybe change some of those things.”

Glover said she enjoyed seeing how lawyers and the court system really operate.

“It’s definitely a neat experience, because you see different things on TV about being in a courtroom, and it’s not like that,” she said. “Not only are they focused on so many different cases, they’re focused on each person in a case, and they genuinely want to help them. It’s not just another person.”

Glover said she is looking forward to the Peanut Festival because she will get to try different foods at the fest and will get to know the other girls in her court better.

“I thought it was going to be a great opportunity to meet new girls — the other princesses — and new people,” she said.

“They’re really great girls, and it has not been awkward at all. We all come from different schools and we all have different things going on, but it’s been really great getting to know them and relating with some of them over sports.”

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Brandi Barton

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Suffolk Christian Academy

Ashley Bido

King’s Fork High School

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Brandi has earned the highest grade point average in her class freshman, sophomore and junior years, earned perfect attendance awards all three years and earned the Timothy Award for Christian character her freshman year. She played varsity girls’ basketball and co-ed varsity tennis, where she earned the most improved player award sophomore year and was co-captain all three years. She was co-editor of the yearbook freshman year and editor of the yearbook sophomore year, treasurer of the National Beta Club, secretary for National Junior Honor Society and more. She has volunteered for numerous community efforts, including doing a Thanksgiving food drive, ringing the bell for the Salvation Army, baking cupcakes for dinners at her school and leading Vacation Bible School at her church. She has been on numerous mission trips.

Ashley has participated on the varsity soccer team freshman, sophomore and junior years, played club soccer at Beach FC since she was 3 years old, and participated on the National Honor Society, National Society of High School Scholars and Student Advisory Board. She was named to the all-conference first team all three years, ranked by Top Drawer for girls’ soccer, named to the honor roll all three years and nominated for girls’ state.

She is chairman of the Red Cross Club, volunteers at St. Mark’s Church, ran the concession stand at SYAA, participated in Relay for Life and took part in the Peanut Fest 5K every year.

Tatiyahna has been a member of the Student Council Association, where she has been the president and secretary, a member of the Spirit Club and president of the Nerd Club, member of the Gay Straight Alliance and member of the National Honors Society. She dances with RPM Dance Company. She has received the UVA Jefferson Book Award, placed in the Yom Hashoah Holocaust International Fine Arts Competition, won first place at the regional level in the Reflections art competition, won several dance scholarships and has attained several perfect SOL scores. She has volunteered at her church, as a classroom volunteer at Kilby Shores Elementary School and painted a Little Free Library with other Lakeland volunteers.

Faith is a member of the challenging International Baccalaureate program. She also participates in marching band, where she and the band have won many awards at competitions. She is on the debate team and made it to the regional level of competition. She has volunteered at Red Cross blood drives and at the Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters. She and some classmates also started a recycling campaign at their school, where they put recycling bins around the school, encouraged their peers to recycle and emptied them regularly.

Lakeland High School

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Madi Wilson

Breanne Wolfe Breanne has spent much of her time as a dual credit student, through which she plans to graduate with her associate degree before she graduates high school next spring. She has also worked in child care at the YMCA and volunteers with Special Olympics and other YMCA events.

Nansemond River High School

Nansemond-Suffolk Academy

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A’jah has been recognized for her academic achievement for maintaining a 3.5 grade point average or higher. She was named Miss Sophomore 2015 and has earned an industry certification for financial literacy. She is involved in the Beta Club and Science Club and was also in the Theatre Club and Robotics Club. She has volunteered for the Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts summer camp, productions at Booker T. Washington Elementary School, the LEAP summer program, Impact Suffolk Thanksgiving giveaway and the Early Start program and also participates in her church choir.

Tori has been on NSA’s varsity swim team, having been an avid swimmer since she was 6 years old. She is captain of the swim team and helped lead the team to the state meet. She currently coaches the Marlin Club swim team and lifeguards at the Marlin Club. She also plays varsity field hockey. She is a member of the SADD Club, Right Brain Club, Chemistry Club and Helping Hands Club as well as the school’s National Honor Society. She has maintained a grade point average above 93 percent the last two years and received first place in last year’s school art show and an honorable mention in this year’s school art show. She volunteers every month at the Portsmouth YMCA, tutors middle school students and volunteered for the Special Olympics swim meet last summer.

Madi has participated in varsity cross country, varsity field hockey and junior varsity and varsity softball. She was a member of the marching and concert bands starting in sixth grade and was a representative to the NSA student council her junior year. Also during her junior year, she was a member of NSA’s Honor Council. She has participated in the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life from 2011 to the present, being on her school team starting in the ninth grade and on her family team, Wilson’s Warriors/Nana’s Bananas, from 2011 to 2015. She was a Saints Ambassador during her sophomore and junior years, giving tours and meeting with prospective NSA families at open houses.

1.800.457.2424

Lakeland High School

18 | WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2017

PEANUT FEST

Carving out some history

BY ELLA BRONAUGH INTERN

After a two-year hiatus, the much-anticipated and much-loved Peanut Butter Sculpting Contest is returning to the Peanut Fest better than ever at 2 p.m. Saturday.

The contest is an event in which the Peanut Queen and her Court, the Peanut Fest chairman and others compete to create the best peanut butter sculpture.

The peanut butter they will use for their creations is specially made for this contest each year

by Producers Peanut Company. It is not intended to be eaten, and is designed so it does not melt and holds its shape.

Theresa Earles, the Peanut Fest’s publicity director, is a big fan of the peanut butter sculpting contest.

“It’s a very fun, gooey mess,” she said over the phone.

This event is sponsored by the Producers Peanut Company, Keurig and Xenith Bank.

The event was canceled last year due to Hurricane Matthew, and it was replaced the previous year by a pumpkin-carving contest because of a fire at the Producers

Peanut Co. plant.

The contest this year will no doubt draw a huge crowd, as it is one of the most anticipated events in the Peanut Fest, and since it was missed by many the past two years.

The contest got its start more than 14 years ago, and it is considered to be unique to Suffolk’s Peanut Fest, according to Earles.

“It’s the world’s only Peanut Butter Sculpture Contest, as far as we know,” Earles said. “The peanut butter is made by Suffolk’s own Producers Peanut Co., and it’s a local event. It’s a great option to have to incorporate another peanut element into the fest.”

The event gets a lot of attention each year, drawing a crowd of around 100 people. During the contest, the spectators will be able to see the Peanut Fest Queen and her court carve their peanut butter sculptures for around 15 to 20 minutes. The winners of the sculpting contest will be announced at the end of the event, and the winners will be awarded ribbons. The winners can also be seen on the Peanut Fest website after the event is over.

The theme for the Peanut Fest

this year is “Cheers for 40 Years,” celebrating the Fest’s 40 year anniversary. The sculptures will be made according to this theme.

Contestants can get very creative with their sculptures each year.

“I love seeing the creativity,” Earles said. “It’s so much fun to watch the queen and her court sculpting. It’s a unique chance to experience a hometown event that you don’t get to see anywhere else.”

Some past sculptures have included motorcycles with peanuts riding them, lighthouses and cowboy boots. Pictures of past winners can be seen on the Peanut Fest website.

The contest is not generally open to public contestants; however, those who are interested in participating this year can contact the Peanut Fest office at 539-6751.

More information on the event can be found at the Suffolk Peanut Fest website.

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Boots, peanuts and more are popular themes at the Suffolk Peanut Festival's annual Peanut Butter Sculpture Contest.

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