News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Cookeville will have its first ever banana pudding festival Saturday.
Event Coordinator Tracey Ludwig said she expects the event to be one of the biggest of the year with about 8,000 people interested in attending.
“We just decided one day that we are going to start doing events, because we have been involved in several,” Ludwig said. “We thought people love food, and food is the way to draw people in. And, we said banana pudding so that way we can have a contest, and we have been overwhelmed with people being interested in coming.”
Ludwig said 16 different banana puddings will be competing for the best recipe through what is called the, “Puddin’ Path.” Participants can pay five dollars to sample each desert and vote on their favorite pudding.
“We have 16 people that have came up with their own recipes to make banana puddings,” Ludwig said. “They are going to be in a contest where you will pay five dollars, go through and you’ll take all banana puddings and vote on which one is the best.”
Ludwig said 120 vendors will be set up at the Putnam County Fairgrounds as well as some free activities for children.
“We’re going to have a kids zone. It is going to be in the arena area. We have a petting zoo that is free to the kids,” Ludwig said. “If you want to buy food, I think they selling the food for the animals for a dollar a piece. We’re going to have a train ride. It is three dollars per child to ride the train. We have free bounce houses for all the kids to jump and have fun. We have face painting, pony rides for five dollars, we have a gentlemen coming to make balloons and cotton candy and then we have a teddy bear mobile. And that is all in the kid zone.”
Ludwig said the event is not tied to the National Pudding Festival in Centerville, Tennessee in Hickman County. But, some of the people from that national festival will be at the Cookeville festival.
