HANCEVILLE, Ala. – A fun day is planned this Saturday in downtown Hanceville as they celebrate one of the most beloved comfort foods–grilled cheese! The inaugural Grilled Cheese Festival is being organized by Hanceville’s downtown merchants and the unique festival plans on having activities for the entire family to enjoy. The festival will be open from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
The Grilled Cheese Festival kicks off at 10 a.m. with live music, vendors, food trucks, kids’ activities and of course, great shopping in Hanceville’s historic downtown. Valerie Hitt, owner of Trinkets & Traditions, has been busy helping to organize the festival, including the Grilled Cheese Cook-Off.
She said, “We already have our six contestants. We just have six this year. Depending on how this festival goes, if we have another festival next year, we may try to add more. We wanted this year, being our first one, to try and keep it local.”
Mr. Jimmy Collins, Councilmember Patty Dean and four others will be vying for the best grilled cheese chef. Three local judges will have the tough job of deciding who will take the title. The cook-off will take place from noon – 1 p.m.
There will be live music throughout the day with country artist Kyle Smith starting things off from 10 a.m. – noon Stone Floor Theory will bring some rock to the festival from 1 p.m. – 3 p.m., followed by Abigail Oldson-Swift.
Two cornhole tournaments, social and competitive entry, will be held in the grassy area on Bangor Avenue. Registration for cornhole is between 10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
Around 40 vendors are registered to attend, with jewelry, wood crafts, signs, wreaths and more. The local restaurants will be open and several food trucks and vendors (many selling grilled cheese options) are also scheduled to be set-up, as well as a few options for cool, sweet treats including Cha Cha’s shaved ice and fresh lemonade.
Other activities include mobile arcade, inflatables for the kids, free face painting and more. Grilled Cheese Festival t-shirts will also be sold.
The Grilled Cheese Festival is an effort to attract people to the area and discover the great local shops in and around downtown Hanceville. Hitt said, “These festivals help us a lot and it’s trying to get people some exposure to the businesses down here. We are just trying to get the word out for people to know that there are still great businesses down here.”
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