So incredible! I was stoked to attend the 20th Annual National Cornbread Festival in South Pittsburg, Tennessee. It’s a festival I’ve been meaning to visit for about four years, but I couldn’t quite make it work. Until 2016! The wait was worth it–even the 45 minute wait to get off the highway and park! Imagine 60,000-100,000 people cramming into a sleepy Appalachian town of 3,000. Does the phrase traffic jam central reminiscent of a one-lane Los Angeles mean anything to you? But wow was it ever worth it once I finally drove through some knee-high weeds and dodged a massive mud puddle in a downtown parking field.  (Primo parking slot!)

Just check out the video to see why this was so worth it! Cornbread Alley houses a litany of different variants of locally baked cornbread for only $4.00 per alley run! Green chilis, sweet potatoes, broccoli, chicken, blueberries, and bean chili all used in innovative recipes centered on putting some “South in your Mouth!” And that didn’t even touch the Cornbread Cook-Off for amateur chefs! Add all of that action on top of an awesome tour of Lodge Manufacturing, maker of awesome cast iron cookware, which only opens their factory to tours once per year. And a bus tour of historic homes. And a Ricky Skaggs concert where he brought sizzling country and bluegrass tunes onto center stage to close Saturday on a rolling mountain high.

I think you get my drift…and hopefully, a watering mouth from this little buttery slice of the South!

Have you been to this festival? Comment below with your stories! And if the thought of such recipes as Cheesy Chicken Cornbread Poppers or Bacon Cheddar Scallion Cornbread sets your mouth to watering, let me know…I might just have a Cornbread Alley recipe or nine somewhere at my humble abode.