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Going bananas: Twin Cities bringing back fun-filled festival

Going bananas: Twin Cities bringing back fun-filled festival
Going bananas: Twin Cities bringing back fun-filled festival | Banana Festival
By CHRIS MENEES
Staff Reporter
The Twin Cities will be going bananas this weekend and into next weekend.
The Banana Festival is returning to Fulton and South Fulton, with  a “bunch” of events scheduled for Saturday through Sept. 17 throughout the community.
Among the highlights of the festivities — designed to a“peel” to children and adults of all ages — will be banana-themed contests, a kiddie parade, a grand parade and a concert by country band Confederate Railroad.
The world-renowned Banana Festival was a tradition in the Twin Cities for many years, but it eventually ceased and gave way to new festivals such as Weekend at Pontotoc and the Railroad Heritage Festival.
This year, the Fulton Tourism Commission de-cided to bring back the beloved Banana Festival as the main festival event.
The origin of the original International Banana Fest-ival reportedly dates back to the late 1800s, according to a history provided by the tourism group. In about 1880, Illinois Central Gulf Railroad was the first to develop refrigerated cars — making it possible for people not living in tropical regions to have the same fruits others enjoyed year-round. At the time, Fulton had a large railroad facility and became the redistribution point for the railroad because of its central location between New Orleans and Canada.
The United Fruit Co., now Chiquita, began ship-ping bananas from South America by ship to New Orleans. The bananas were loaded onto railcars on top of 162-pound blocks of ice for the trip north. Fulton had the only ice house on the route north to Chicago and the bananas were re-iced with blocks from the former Fulton Ice Plant.
At one point, over 70 percent of the bananas consumed in the United States passed through Fulton, according to the tourism commission. Thus, Fulton became known as “The Banana Capital of the World.”
As the Banana Festival returns, the theme for this year’s celebration will be “Going Bananas … Pudding Back Tradition,” a nod to the longtime festival and its legendary one-ton banana pudding enjoyed by the community following the grand parade.
‘Bunch’ of events
More than 30 events are being sponsored by the Fulton Tourism Commis-sion and local businesses. Events are free to the public unless otherwise noted for entrants.
The festival and its many activities are featured on a colorful interactive website at www.thebananafestival.com. Applications for various contests are also available for download.
The complete schedule includes:
Saturday
5 p.m. — Teen Miss and Miss Banana Festival pageants, Fulton High School (entry fee).
Sunday
1 p.m. — Little Miss Banana Festival pageants, Fulton High School (entry fee).
Monday
4 p.m. — Store-front dec-oration judging, sponsored by Twin Cities Chamber of Commerce.
5 p.m. — Ladies Banana Golf Scramble tee-off, Fulton Country Club (entry fee).
Sept. 13
7 p.m. — Top Banana Reception, Fulton Country Club ($100 per person).
Sept. 14
5-9 p.m. — Faith and Family Night, Pontotoc stage in downtown Fulton.
The event will feature special music from local church choirs and a Christian concert featuring former NFL football player Gino Mingo.
Sept. 15
9 a.m. — Food vendors, downtown (fees).
9 a.m. — Senior citiz-ens Rook tournament, Senior Citizens Center in downtown Fulton.
5 p.m. — Bean supper, Pontotoc Building indowntown Fulton, sponsored by House of Prayer Pentecostal Church ($4 per plate).
5-10 p.m. — Great American Shows Carnival, behind Fulton Post Office.
6 p.m. — Greased pig contest, lot at the corner of Washington and Main streets (former Huddleston’s) in downtown Fulton.
6 p.m. — Banana Bunco Tournament, the Keg Bar & Grill banquet room ($10).
6-9 p.m. — Banana Ping Pong Tournament (doubles), Coach’s (former Huddleston’s).
7 p.m. — Fulton’s Got Talent, grand stage at Pontotoc Park.
Sept. 16
8-10 a.m. — Health fair, sponsored by Parkway Regional Hospital, Pontotoc Building.
8-11 a.m. — Banana Bake-off, sponsored by Evans Total Care, Senior Citizens Center.
9 a.m. — Food vendors, downtown (fees).
11 a.m. — Banana Golf Invitational registration, Fulton Country Club ($30 plus cart).
Noon — Banana Diva Fashion Show and Luncheon, Pontotoc Building ($16).
Noon — Banana Golf Invitational shot gun start, Fulton Country Club ($30 plus cart).
2 p.m. — Banana Bonnet Contest, Sarah Nicole’s Salon & Spa.
5-10 p.m. — Great American Shows Carnival, behind the post office.
7:30 p.m. — Fulton’s Got Talent winner performance, grand stage at Pontotoc Park.
8 p.m. — Confederate Railroad concert, grand stage at Pontotoc Park.
Free giveaways after the concert will include a 42-inch television, a Kindle and an iPad.
Sept. 17
7:30-11:30 a.m. — Fulton/South Fulton Rotary Club Car Show entry registration, downtown Fulton (entry fee).
7:30-8:30 a.m. — Cornhole tournament registration, next to the Keg Bar & Grill ($40 per team).
8 a.m. — Fulton/South Fulton Rotary Club Car Show, downtown.
9 a.m. — Food vendors, downtown (fees).
9 a.m.-noon — Banana Ping Pong Tournament (singles), Coach’s (former Huddleston’s).
9 a.m. — Cornhole begins, Lake Street in downtown Fulton ($40 per team).
9 a.m. — Pistol shoot, sponsored by the Fulton Police Department, police department firing range ($20 per class).
10 a.m.-5 p.m. — Inflatables, sponsored by the Kentucky and Tennessee National Guards, Pontotoc Park.
Noon-10 p.m. — Great American Shows Carnival, behind the post office.
1-2:30 p.m. — Banana Brawl Wrestling, Pontotoc Park.
1-3 p.m. — Karaoke, Coach’s (former Hud-dleston’s).
3:30 p.m. — Car show winners announced, downtown.
4 p.m. — Photo contest winners announced, downtown.
4 p.m. — “Monkeys, Music and Bananas” Kiddie Parade, sponsored by Jim Martin & Associates Realtors, downtown.
6 p.m. — Grand Parade, downtown.
8 p.m. — Terry Mike Jeffrey concert, Pontotoc Park.
Afterward, free giveaways will include a 42-inch television, a 50-inch television and an iPad.
For more information about any of the events, call the Fulton Tourism Commission at (270) 472-9000 or go online to www.thebananafestival.com.