ALABAMA COTTON FESTIVAL

STORY BY BETSY ILER

Alabama Cotton Festival returns to downtown Eclectic Oct. 8 even bigger and better than its previous 28 festival events, said festival organizer Carmen Winslett.

“Before we had to take a year off for COVID last year, we 12,000 people at the Cotton Festival in 2020. From the response we’re getting on social media, we are expecting 15,000 to 20,000 next month,” Winslett said.

The event has earned a lot of social media attention in recent years, as the festival was No. 3 on the 2019 “Only in Your State” list of festivals not to miss and No. 9 on the 2019 USA Tales/Alabama site.

“When we started this event, it was my goal to bring in the people and show them what a great place Eclectic is. I love this town. I love the businesses. I love the people, and this is one day out of the year to just show it off and celebrate our town,” Winslett said.

And indeed, her volunteers do just that. Winslett expects to sign up about 300 vendors who will line the downtown streets from Main Street to the Quick Stop and First Avenue from Collins to College. From 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., the free kids zone will hop with activity. There will be zoo animals visiting until 10 a.m., and Alabama Wildlife Federation will introduce kids to some of the residents at Alabama Nature Center from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Allison Andrews will bring her therapy alpacas for a demonstration, too.

“She’s got this new little brown one. Just cute as can be. She takes these alpacas to daycares and nursing homes. They’re sort of like therapy dogs,” Winslett said.

Andrews also will have a booth where festival goers will find clothing and accessory items made from alpaca wool.

The carnival games also will return to this year’s event. Bouncy houses and the dog show are expected to draw crowds as well.

“We expect about 40 entries in the dog show. The entry fee is $4, and all the proceeds go to the Elmore County Humane Society,” Winslett explained.

Prizes will be awarded for the biggest dog, smallest dog, waggiest tail, mayor’s favorite, best of show and more. All entrants must show proof of rabies vaccination and be kept on leash.

In addition, Eclectic Police Corporal Tim Thornton and his Dutch shepherd K-9 partner, Ivo, will show off skills that put the team in the top three at the Central Alabama Police K-9 Association’s recent Narcotics Competition.

Food vendors at the event will hawk all manner of treats, from barbecue and boiled peanuts to gumbo and frozen cheesecake on a stick.

“There will be a wide selection. Just about anything you want to eat will be there,” Winslett said.

Entertainment will be center stage all day with some local favorites looking forward to the return of

Arts and Crafts Marketplace

Festival organizer Carmen Winslett expects close to 300 vendors to display their wares at this year's Alabama Cotton Festival.

this year’s event. The Back Porch Pickers will perform not only bluegrass, as their moniker suggests, but also a wide selection of music from all genres.

“They’re wonderful. They can play anything,” she said.

Sweet Creek Cloggers also will put on a 45-minute show. Look up the entertainment schedule on the Alabama Cotton Festival Facebook page.

The classic car show featured 150 entries in 2020, and Winslett looks forward to more entries in that popular section this year.

The vendors will include mobile boutiques, goats milk products, bee products, artists and a number of artisans who will demonstrate their crafts on site, including a chainsaw carver.

Winslett also is excited to welcome a special guest, Retired Col. Desmond Bailey, U.S. Army, who was instrumental in the 2003 capture of Saddam Hussein, an Iraqi president whose rule was marked with human rights abuses and bloody invasions of neighboring Kuwait and Iran. Bailey wrote a book, entitled Recon 701, about the mission and will sign books for festival goers.

“What this man has done for our country is amazing,” Winslett said.

The Alabama Cotton Queen pageant will take place one week prior to the festival. Young ladies from infancy to age 15 are encouraged to enter for the honor of representing the festival. First Baptist Church in Eclectic will host the pageant. Entry is $40 per contestant and an additional $10 for entrants in the Most Photogenic Contest. Download an entry form from the Facebook page.

Some 100 volunteers are needed to set up and run the 29th Alabama Cotton Festival, starting at 4 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 7.

“We’ll start parking vendors at 4 p.m. on Friday afternoon and will close off the streets,” Winslett said. “It’s a lot of work, but it’s so worth it. When I look up and down the streets and through the Pecan Orchard and see a sea of people who have come to celebrate our town, it’s a feeling of accomplishment for me and for the chairmen who Making Music, Making Fun run these events and the Live entertainment is volunteers who work to center stage with many make it successful. It will local favorites returning to the festival this year. take everyone to make this happen, but it will be wonderful.”

To volunteer, register as a vendor or otherwise take part in this year’s Alabama Cotton Festival, call Winslett at 256-794-0379.