Released: Sept. 16, 2022
TIFTON, Ga. – The 25th annual Plains Peanut Festival is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 24 in Plains, Georgia, home of President Jimmy Carter and First Lady Rosalynn Carter. The event highlights the harvest of its cash crop, peanuts, which has big potential across the globe by providing a sustainable and nutritious product and fighting malnutrition. Georgia leads the nation in annual peanut production, accounting for nearly half of all the peanuts grown in the United States.
Farmers across the United States have begun harvesting peanuts, the sustainable crop that helps to replenish the soil with nutrients. Peanuts are also known for their health benefits. Peanuts contain more protein than any other nut and research continues to show that consuming a little less than a serving of peanuts a day is an effective way to reduce heart disease. Globally, peanuts are helping fight malnutrition by providing a therapeutic, ready-to-eat peanut product made in Fitzgerald, Georgia, from MANA Nutrition.
Festivities throughout the day include free entertainment, historical and educational displays, food vendors, as well as arts and crafts booths. The Peanut Institute, National Peanut Board, American Peanut Shellers Association, Georgia Peanut Commission, Hormel/Planters, National Peanut Buying Points Association and Mars will display exhibits in the Peanut Pavilion beginning at 9:00 a.m.
Mr. Peanut will officially lead the parade which begins at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, and the Williams family will be honored as the Grand Marshall. The Williams family operated Williams Warehouse in Plains, Georgia, since 1926. Through the years, the Williams family have been instrumental in serving farmers within the area and they are known for supplying quality seed for the peanut industry. The Williams family have also been instrumental in supporting local events within Plains, including the Plains Peanut Festival.
Additionally, the festival is proud to have special guests in attendance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Those guests include Daniel Whitley, administrator of the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service, Zach Ducheneaux, administrator of the USDA Farm Service Agency and Arthur Tripp Jr., state executive director of the USDA Farm Service Agency in Georgia.
SAM Shortline will have train rides and Dorothy Padgett will be signing her book, “Jimmy Carter Elected President with Pocket Change and Peanuts.” The festival street dance featuring Good Vibrations will perform live on Main Street beginning at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday.
Sponsors of this year’s peanut festival include American Peanut Shellers Association, Birdsong Peanuts, Buffalo Peanut Company, Georgia Federal-State Inspection, Georgia Peanut Commission, Golden Peanut Company, MANA Nutrition, Mars Wrigley, National Peanut Board, National Peanut Buying Points Association, Olam Peanut Shelling Company, Premium Peanut, Hormel/Planters, The Peanut Institute, and the United States Peanut Federation. Friends of the Jimmy Carter National Historic Site coordinates the festival annually.
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