June 8th marked Register’s 2nd Annual Pecan Festival. It was rescheduled from its original date this year due to weather. The festival ran from 11am-6pm, but people were showing up ready to shop at 10am.
Event Coordinator Breanne Perry believes it was because before the rescheduling, the event was supposed to be at 10am. This didn’t serve as a problem, because a lot of the vendors were already set up and ready to do business too. With the help of the Imago Dei Motorcycle Ministries on getting everyone parked safely, the spaces filled up pretty quick.
“The first time we tried to have the festival this year, it washed out, and we still stuck around till 12, and vendors were still sitting out there too. The rain seemed to get to a hazardous point, so we packed up,” said Perry. “We wanted a festival, so instead of canceling altogether, we decided to reschedule for a later date."
The festival had everything you could expect in a festival. It had a petting zoo, kids zone with a mechanical bull, a few inflatable bounce houses, and there was an inflatable battle arena also. The inflatables took a little extra time getting ready, due to Party Harbor Inflatables’ generators being either misplaced or stolen the night before the festival. No worries, as they recovered by getting some new ones at Lowe’s.
There was live music by Clayton Hackle, The Register Baptist Church Praise Team, State Prison Cloggers, Chloe Best, Jeremy Thomas, Jacob Dean, Lisa Roberts and Tionna Young. RBC Music Ministry and Praise Band provided the entertainment and ran the sound.
And what is a festival without a cake walk? The Register Baptist Church with the help of Jody Rushing was able to raise $428 that will go to a Register family in need of financial help with medical assistance.
The Pecan Festival also hosted a raffle and was able to raise $655 for the Hearts and Hands Clinic. They are a medical service that provides healthcare/services to citizens of Bulloch County who are medically uninsured and have an income at or below 200% of the federal poverty guideline. They are funded solely through donations and volunteers. Terry Hart was the winner of the raffle, and received a Carolina Cooker deep fryer.
During the event, the Pecan Festival named its citizen of the year, Miss Buford Brannen.
Perry looks to bring back the festival next year, and wants to schedule it around Memorial Day, before the weather gets too hot.
“This year was still a great turn out; it was really just the heat that was bad. When the vendors signed up for the festival, they also signed a waiver that said everyone had to stay the entire day, but the crowd kinda died down around 1:30-2pm and it never recovered. So when some of the vendors said the heat was starting to get ridiculous, I let them go home because their health was the number one priority,” said Perry.
In terms of changes being made to the festival, there are some talks of having it earlier in the day because of the weather conditions, but there are also talks of having it later in the evening, and even hosting a street dance along with it. Until something is agreed on, the schedule will remain the same.
"Let's Go Nuts" 2nd Annual Pecan Festival t-shirts and merch are still available at the Register City Hall.
The 2024 sponsors included Register Baptist Church, Art Photography, El Chepo Fast & Easy #3, Tri-County Septic Service, Wholesale Customs in the Boro, Moss Land & Forestry Services, Agri-Supply, At Your Service Tree Service LLC, All Green Services LLC, The Warehouse Flooring & Home Decor, Collins & Sons Heating & Air, Sheatractor and Equipment, Loveday & Company, Sapphire 13, Party Harbor Inflatables, Pawsitive K9 Connections and L.A Waters Furniture & Mattress Center.