Malia Riggs
Elmore Autauga News
The small town of Eclectic in rural Elmore County, Alabama, hosted their 31st Annual Alabama Cotton Festival over the weekend. The event celebrated small town roots and origins. With thousands in attendance and over 200 vendors, it was a sea of smiles from locals and visitors alike who celebrated tradition, history and fall fun.
“The Cotton Festival is important to the community because it brings so many outside visitors into the town, and it really lets people know what we have in the heart of Eclectic. Technically, we’re a really small town and this brings a lot into our town and lets the rest of the world see us too,” Eclectic Events Coordinator and assistant Town Clerk, Maggin Edwards said.
The event kicked off at 8 a.m. with shopping from vendors and endless choices from the food trucks in attendance. The festivities started at 11 a.m. with the annual dog show, and the car, truck and bike show followed soon after.
“The vendors are from all over, we even have a food vendor from Florida here for the event. It’s just great to see everyone come in and share their culture with us when they bring it to our small town,” Edwards said.
While the tradition of the Alabama Cotton Festival typically stays the same, this year’s festival was the first ever Annual Cornhole Tournament. Each respective competition had numerous categories and plentiful opportunities for everyone that entered.
“My favorite aspect of facilitating the Cotton Festival is getting to interact with all of the vendors and then getting to come and see them. I’ve been talking to them and helping to plan this all year and being able to finally meet them face to face and make those personal connections and relationships makes it all worth it for me,” Edwards said.
Festivities continued with a show from The Bama Flying Dogs and the Alabama Cotton Queen contest which was held the weekend before.
In the Kid’s Zone activities consisted of a bounce house, face painting, balloon animals, a petting zoo and more vendor opportunities.
“We are so grateful for our community support and even the surrounding communities support coming in and all of our vendors we could not make this happen without them, and we hope everyone continues to come back,” Edwards said.
