National Peanut Festival offers greased pig, calf scramble

This week the National Peanut Festival is taking place in Dothan, Alabama to honor local peanut farmers, to celebrate the harvest season … and to compete in a Greased Pig/Calf Scramble contest.

Known as the “Peanut Capital of the World,” Dothan is located smack dab in the middle of peanut country, with the majority of all the peanuts grown in the United States grown within a 100-mile radius of Dothan.

The first festival was held Nov. 10, 1938. and included a pageant, parade, historical play, and grand ball.  The keynote was Dr. George Washington Carver from the Tuskegee Institute who gained international fame with his development of over 300 products from the peanut.

Today the National Peanut Festival has grown to a ten-day event with more than 150,000 attending.  In addition to peanuts, the festival hosts numerous fun-filled, family events … such as the Greased Pig/Calf Scramble contest. If you have never seen a competition in action, check out these kids and their strategies.