By Jaine Treadwell

The Messenger

 

On Friday, a plane from New York City will touch down in Montgomery.

The senior producer of Blue Ribbon Hunter, the hit online food/travel show on Yahoo! will exit the plane. But she’ll not stop in Montgomery. She’ll drive south on U.S. 231 to Brundidge for the 23rd Annual Peanut Butter Festival.

Blue Ribbon Hunter, a web series that travels across the country highlighting America’s festivals and celebrating great food, is in its fifth season. Every episode is featured on Yahoo’s homepage and garners about a million views.

Sarah Lindland actually found out about the Peanut Butter Festival while doing research online. There was just something about the idea of a festival that paid tribute to the foodstuff made from the lowly little nut that dethroned King Cotton.

Lindland made a phone call and sent a few emails before giving the Peanut Butter Festival the Blue Ribbon Hunter stamp of approval.

In August, the Blue Ribbon Hunter The Blue Ribbon Hunter’s website features foods such as the Grease Truck Fat Sandwich at Rutgers University. Many of the names are familiar, Bette Midler, Martha Stewart and Fabio.

That’s enough to send the members of the Brundidge Historical Society, which sponsors the annual Peanut Butter Festival, into a nervous tizzy.

“No need for that,” said Johnny Steed, BHS president. “We are what we are. We’re just a small town, hometown festival. We’re a bunch of folks that love peanut butter and are proud of our town’s heritage in the peanut butter industry.”

Each year, several thousand people from all walks of life attend the Peanut Butter Festival.

“Back in the ‘good ol’ days, when the farmers gathered their crops in the fall, they finally had a little money in their pockets,” Steed said. “They would come to town and buy things they’d not been able to have for a while. They’d visit with friends and neighbors and just have a good time being together. That’s what the Peanut Butter Festival tries to recreate.

“Admission to the festival is free. This is the Brundidge Historical Society’s gift to our community.

“There’s nothing fancy about it. No bows and bangles. We wouldn’t know how to be fancy if wanted to be.”

The 23rd Annual Peanut Butter Festival is Saturday, Oct. 26 on the grounds of the historic Bass House.