Localista Review: RC Cola Moon Pie Festival Returned and Delivered an Amazing Family Day

The RC Cola and Moon Pie Festival held in Bell Buckle, TN welcomed summer with all the glory and excitement you can expect from a small-town event. The streets and shops were stuffed with more variations of the sweet southern duo than the imagination can handle. Just as prevalent was something else equally special: Small Town Tennessee Pride. The population of Bell Buckle expanded like the World's Largest Moon Pie served as the event started winding down. Folks from all over came to celebrate the sweet snack combination and were rewarded with so much more in fellowship and fun.

The festival, hosted by the Bell Buckle Chamber of Commerce, happens every third Saturday in June and has for the past 29 years. It kicked off with a 10-mile and 5k run which is the perfect way to relieve any guilt from the indulgences to follow. If a spectator's sport is more your speed, the live entertainment satisfied that craving. The menu of performances included the Midstate Cloggers, the RC Cola and Moon Pie Parade, games, contests, art, craft booths, and live music by country music singer-songwriter John Allen Miller.

Coming hungry to a festival that celebrates food is always a good idea. Serving as the welcome wagon was a bouquet of street cuisine aromas. Food trucks, booths, and cafes sent attendees' taste buds on an international and locally unique journey of deliciousness. Foodies could wash down their favorite festival fried fare (funnel cake, anyone?), pizza, burgers, gyros, noodles & rice, or BBQ, with a mocktail served in a baby watermelon. Of course, the best way to celebrate was to enjoy a Moon Pie and an RC Cola. The challenging question was to decide on a flavor: chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, caramel, or lemon. The answer is "all of the above"!

Shopping really should have its own category in the Olympics, but until then we can practice at events like this. A maze of vendor booths and shops stretched through downtown Bell Buckle. Getting lost among the handmade gifts, unique treasures, and recognizable products optimized the "shop small" movement. It turned into a fun scavenger hunt of RC Cola and Moon Pie products. Did you know that you can get an RC Cola and Moon Pie salt and pepper shaker? Who doesn't need that in their life?

Mark your calendars for next year's event to experience the sweet fun all over again, or for the first time. The RC Cola and Moon Pie Festival in Bell Buckle, TN is an experience the whole family will enjoy.