Bell Buckle • RC and Moon Pie Festival • June
Chattanooga • Southern Brewers Festival • August
Cleveland • Cleveland Apple Festival • Second Saturday in October
Cosby • Cosby Ramp Festival • May
Dayton • Annual Tennessee Strawberry Festival • May
Erwin • Unicoi County Apple Festival • October
Greater Five Points of Nashville • Tomato Art Fest • August
Humbolt • West Tennessee Strawberry Festival • May
Lebanon • A Toast to Tennessee Wine Festival • May
Lookout Mountain • Ketner's Mill Country Arts Fair • Third weekend in October
Lynnville • Lynnville Blackberry Festival • Last weekend in June
Manchester • Chocolate Fantasy, Chocolate Tastings •
Martin • Tennessee Soybean Festival • September
Memphis • Greek Festival • May
Memphis • Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest • May
Memphis • Memphis Italian Festival • May
Monteagle • Taste of the Mountain Food Fair • Second Saturday in March
Nashville • Music & Molasses Festival • Third weekend in October
Norris • Tennessee Fall Homecoming • Second Weekend of October for 3 days
Paris • World's Biggest Fish Fry • April
Pulaski • Giles County Gobbler Gala and Tennessee Governor's One Shot Turkey Hunt • 2nd weekend in April
Ripley • Lauderdale County Tomato Festival • July
Rutledge • Grainger County Tomato Festival • Last weekend in July
Sevierville • Bloomin' Barbeque & Bluegrass • May
Shady Valley • Shady Valley Cranberry Festival • Second Weekend of October
South Pittsburg • National Cornbread Festival • April
National Cornbread Festival
South Pittsburg • April
Amateur chefs from all over the country compete for honors in the National Cornbread Cook-Off. Main dish cornbread dishes are eligible in this annual contest sponsored by Martha White Flour and Lodge Cast Iron. A 4-H version of the contest is open to fourth-grade 4-H'ers. Prior winners of the Cook-Offs have come from North Carolina and Kentucky to Nebraska and Wisconsin.
World's Biggest Fish Fry
Paris • April
Start with 1,325 pounds of cornmeal, 212 pounds of salt and 10,000 pounds of fresh Kentucky Lake catfish. Add all of this with the annual Fish Fry Rodeo, the grand parade, street dances, sporting events, arts and craft shows and square dances, and you will have the World's Biggest Fish Fry.
Giles County Gobbler Gala and
Tennessee Governor's One Shot Turkey Hunt
Pulaski • 2nd weekend in April
Giles County is host to the Governor's One Shot Turkey Hunt — an annual event attracting turkey hunters from throughout the country. In addition to the Turkey Hunt, there are craft and food vendors, live entertainment, a turkey roll competition, lots of fun stuff for the kids, and a "Run Turkey Run" 5k run/walk. This outstanding event commences with a Gobbler Gala/One-Shot Banquet featuring more live entertainment.
Memphis in May
World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest
Memphis • May
Called the "Super Bowl of Swine" and the "Largest Pork Barbecue Cooking Contest on the Planet,"this world-class event is held each May at Tom Lee Park on the banks of the Mississippi River. The focus is three days of intense competition where teams eat, sleep, and live barbecue—vying for prizes and bragging rights. More than 90,000 barbecue lovers from around the world gather to sample and compete with sauces, rubs, and all things pork and barbecue. There is even a Ms. Piggie competition where grown men don snouts and tutus.
A Toast to Tennessee Wine Festival
Lebanon • May
A Toast to Tennessee Wine Festival showcases great wine along with live music, gourmet food and area artisans. Several award-winning Tennessee wineries offer samples of their finest wines at the event. The festival also includes family-owned companies who either grow their own products or purchase grains and produce from Tennessee farmers for their recipes.
Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church's Greek Festival is the place for anyone who loves Greek food or who wants to give it a try. The dinner provides a range of tastes. If you don't want to stand in line, you can order individual items at the food stands. The food includes gyros (a sandwich with lamb), spanakopita (a pastry with spinach), and souvlaki (a chicken kebab). Indulge your sweet tooth with a variety of dessert pastries including baklava (a pastry with honey and nuts). After eating, burn off the calories dancing to live Greek music.
Cosby Ramp Festival
Cosby • May
The ramp, or wild leek, belongs to the sample family as chives and garlic. Long used by Native Americans for medicinal purposes and early settlers in cooking, the ramp still is an integral rite of spring in regional cooking. The flavor is similar to that of garlic and onion, but more pronounced and musty. The ramp has been called "the sweetest tasting and vilest smelling vegetable in Nature's bounty." The Cosby Ramp Festival has been held every May since 1954 and includes a recipe contest featuring fare such as Green Eggs & Ramps and BBQ Chicken served with Ramps. Other events include a Maid of Ramps contest, Appalachian crafts, country, gospel, bluegrass and rock & roll music
Bloomin' Barbeque & Bluegrass
Sevierville • May
Bloomin' Barbeque & Bluegrass features the Tennessee State Championship BBQ Competition where an estimated 2,832 pounds of meat will be cooked by teams from across the United States. Some 20,000 attendees will also enjoy world-class bluegrass musicians, arts and crafts, kids games and the one and only Mountain Soul Vocal Competition.
Annual Tennessee Strawberry Festival
Dayton • May
The Tennessee Strawberry Festival started in 1947 as a one-day festival to celebrate the large strawberry crops of Rhea County, which, at its height, produced about four million quarts of berries each year. Now a 10-day long extravaganza, the festival is a celebration of small-town life and includes a Classic Car Cruise-in, Pancake Breakfast, Pie and Cake Baking Contest, and a Strawberry Shortcake dinner.
Chocolate Fantasy, Chocolate Tastings
Manchester •
What if you could actually live your chocolate fantasy with fountains of chocolate cascading down and around a mountain of fresh fruit. Giant bunnies would greet you with a hug and a handful of candy. There would be chocolate at every turn-chocolate ice cream, chocolate cheesecake, homemade fudge, pies, cakes and cookies all drenched in decadent chocolate. Think you're dreaming...you're not. It's a real Chocolate Fantasy sponsored by Fantasy Radio and featuring confectioners, caterers and chocolatiers from all over the southeast. Attendees enjoy samples of chocolate favorites and new creations, too.
RC and Moon Pie Festival
Bell Buckle • June
Join in the cutting of the world's largest Moon Pie at the RC and Moon Pie Festival. Along with the food treats, there is plenty of country and bluegrass music, clogging dancers, Moon Pie games, crafts, and the ever-popular "Synchronized Wading Extravaganza".
Lynnville Blackberry Festival
Lynnville • Last weekend in June
Blackberry treats and "the world's largest blueberry pie" are served at this two-day festival in south/central Tennessee. Festival attendees enjoy a street dance, live music, the Jolly Carnival featuring rides for the children, and more. This festival is "Southern hospitality at its best."
Grainger County Tomato Festival
Rutledge • Last weekend in July
The Grainger County Tomato Festival was organized in 1993 to promote the local tomato crops and to provide exposure for area artists, craftsman and non-profit organizations. Events include music, beauty pageant, 5k run, art show, car show, Civil War camp, and tomato wars. This event is sponsored by the Rutledge Lion's Club and has become one of the largest free festivals in East Tennessee.
Tomato Art Fest
Greater Five Points of Nashville • August
Tomatoes abound at this festival featuring the artwork of over 100 skilled artists from around the country, an heirloom tomato tasting, Tomatillo! Children's Fine Art, a "Most Beautiful Tomato" competition, a Bloody Mary contest, and a tomato recipe contest with six categories—including dessert!
Southern Brewers Festival
Chattanooga • August
If you like brew, this event is for you! The annual Southern Brewers Festival in early August has become one of the city's most anticipated gatherings, with good reason. During the festival, two blocks near the Riverfront are transformed into one big beer tent. Wet your whistle on more than 40 different brews as vendors from around the world serve up their best. Several local cafes are also on hand to provide a variety of culinary delights.
Tennessee Soybean Festival
Martin • September
The Tennessee Soybean Festival celebrates the benefits of soybeans and the community of Martin, home of the University of Tennessee, with a wide range of activities. Held for four days in September, the festival features a soybean pancake tournament, golf tournament, street fair, bicycle rodeo, car show, senior citizens shuffleboard tournament, mini quilt show, barbecue, kids' day, and high school rodeo challenge.
Tennessee Fall Homecoming
Norris • Second Weekend of October for 3 days
Regional cooks prepare favorites like cornbread, fried pies, and chicken and dumplings. There are early pioneer activities such as cane grinding on a mule-powered mill, sheep herding, and lye-soap making. Festival goers enjoy performances by over 350 traditional old-time, folk, country, gospel, and bluegrass musicians.
Shady Valley Cranberry Festival
Shady Valley • Second Weekend of October
Cranberries have thrived in Shady Valley for the last 10,000 years. Every year, locals celebrate the tart fruit with a parade featuring the Johnson County marching band, colorful floats, and antique cars. Other offerings include tours of the cranberry bogs, clogging, live bluegrass music, and face painting at Shady Valley Elementary School.
www.johnsoncountychamber.org/JCChamber/events/cranberryfestival.html
Ketner's Mill Country Arts Fair
Lookout Mountain • Third weekend in October
This festival is situated at a beautiful historic mill and dam on the Sequatchie River. Built in 1882, by 'Pappy' A.K. Ketner, the site includes a grist mill, sawmill, and large working water wheel. The festival is on 100 acres next to the Mill and is set among historic farm buildings. The small pavilion next to the Mill houses some displays of art, crafts, and domestic arts displays such as wool spinning and weaving, sorghum grinding, chair caning, and country cooking with the Mill's freshly ground cornmeal. Stoneground cornmeal and grits are for sale. Music performance includes the area's best bluegrass, country, and gospel groups.
Unicoi County Apple Festival
Erwin • October
The festival, consistently named one of the Southeast Tourism Society's Top 20 Events in the Southeast and a two-year winner of a Northeast Tennessee Tourism Association's Pinnacle Award, is a premier two-day event that features handmade crafts, a variety of unique foods, two entertainment stages highlighting local, regional and national talent, large children's area, Blue-Ridge Pottery Show and Sale, Apple Festival Pageant, tennis tournament, cooking contest and much more.
Cleveland Apple Festival
Cleveland • Second Saturday in October
The Cleveland Apple Festival is a family event that takes place on the courthouse square in downtown Cleveland. Held annually, the festival offers a juried art and craft show, live bluegrass music, food booths, horse and hay rides, entertainment, an auction, and children's activities. Children's rides are free, and there is free parking.
Music & Molasses Festival
Nashville • Third weekend in October
The annual Music & Molasses Festival at the Tennessee Agricultural Museum is a country celebration of the harvest season. Molasses-making the old-time way is one of the many special demonstrations that can be enjoyed with cooking and tasting at the sorghum mill. The weekend of family fun includes bluegrass music, story-tellers, country cloggers, a grist mill, and homemade cakes and pies.
Great Pumpkin Festival and Weigh-Off
Allardt • October
Pumpkin growers and locals gather to judge the largest pumpkin. The Allardt Weigh-off record breaker and state record pumpkin weighed in at 1,051 pounds. In addition to breaking records, the festival includes a recipe contest, costume competition, car show and quilt show.