By Chris Yow
Editor
The 10th annual Alabama Butterbean Festival is set to take place in downtown Pinson on Oct. 2-3. The festival features a plethora of events, such as live music, carnival rides, petting zoo, pony rides and, of course, food.
Each year, the festival is held to benefit a number of charities in the area, along with the Pinson Education Foundation, Pinson Valley High School service orgnaizations, Jimmie Hale Mission and more.
Beginning on Friday night, the free event will open at 6 p.m. and last until 10 p.m. with a fireworks show beginning at 9 p.m.
Saturday, the festival won’t officially open to the public until 9 a.m., but there will be a 5k and 1-mile fun run beginning at 7 a.m. Saturday morning, and registration for the annual antique car show will begin at 8 a.m. and last until 10 a.m.
Judging for the car show will take place at 12 noon, with awards being handed out at 2 p.m.
Another attraction for interested parties is the Guinness world-record-holding cooking pot. The pot held a world-record 1,010 gallons of baked beans in 2010. Along with the world-record-holding pot, mascot Bucky Butterbean will be in town to greet visitors and take photos throughout the day. A dog show will also be held at 11 a.m.
“Everyone in Pinson and the surrounding communities looks forward to the festival each year,” Ronnie Dixon, executive director of The Alabama Butterbean Festival said in a release. “We are proud to host such a special event and look forward to this year. It’s the 10th year and we have made sure it’s bigger and better than ever.”
The live music schedule is set, and includes artists of several genres, including country music artist, Johnathan East Band headlining Friday night at 8 p.m. and 6-time Grammy winning gospel singer Russ Taff to close out the event on Saturday at 3 p.m.