Main Street Batesville Annual Southern Food Festival June 2 in Downtown Batesville.
SOUTHERN FOOD FESTIVAL TO CELEBRATE OZARK FOOD TRADITIONS
Main Street Batesville has set its annual Southern Food Festival for 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on June 2 in downtown Batesville. The event is a celebration of traditional Southern food culture, with local chefs and restaurants presenting a signature dish. Festival-goers have the option of eating at their favorite food vendor, or buying a Punch Card (good for 5 samples, a fresh-squeezed lemonade, and a keepsake cup) in order to sample multiple dishes. Punch
card holders can then turn in their punch card to vote for their favorite food of the day.
Votes will be tallied for the year’s “Best of Batesville” award. Last year, CIX 109 took home the honor with their shrimp-and-grits recipe.
“This was a new, but instantly popular, event last year and so it will become an annual festival for the downtown,” Main Street Batesville Executive Director Shannon Haney said. “We want the food to be a reflection of the local culture, and give visitors a chance to sample local flavors.”
Also bringing “local” to the festival will be craft and business vendors, with an entire block dedicated to vendors’ wares.
The day will include live music, with performance by the 106th Army Band at 10 a.m., The Hamburger Cows band at 11 a.m., Sarah Cecil at 1 p.m., and local accordion aficionado Ed Casper at 2 p.m.
There will also be circus performers, a Keller bounce house, and a dedication of a street memorial honoring “The People’s Block” at the corner of 3rd Street and Main Street at 10 a.m.
The event is presented thanks to generous support from Peco Foods and the John Herman Hickman Foundation, as well as Future Fuel and Batesville Poultry Equipment.
For more information on the Southern Food Festival, or to request a vendor application, call Main Street Batesville at 844-462-4482 or email mainstreetbatesville@gmail.com.
