In Williston, peanuts become more than just a crop one Saturday each fall. They become the reason families come together to celebrate a tradition that began in 1989.
The Central Florida Peanut Festival brought vendors, music, and family activities to Heritage Park in Williston on Saturday. The Williston Area Chamber of Commerce describes the festival as its biggest day of the year, celebrating the peanut industry and the community that supports it.
Dena Battle, executive director of the Chamber, said this year’s festival was one of the biggest the organizers had seen in a long time. She said the response began well before attendees arrived at the park.
“I knew from the beginning this was going to be a huge year. Everything from our vendor response to our sponsorship response to our pageant response has been more than any other year,” Battle said.
Among the companies sponsoring this year’s celebration was Seacoast Bank, a returning sponsor whose employees joined the festival to connect with residents and visitors.
Owen Yates, an assistant banking center manager at Seacoast Bank, said the bank had participated in the event for many years. He said the festival offered an opportunity to spend time with the community the bank serves.
“We love our community, this very tight-knit community, we call Williston. It is very important to us, and we have always been able to get out and reach out to the community. It means a lot,” Yates said.
Yates said Seacoast Bank also offered a raffle, with all donations supporting breast cancer awareness. The bank’s participation was part of its broader involvement in events throughout Williston.
“Any type of event that is held here in Williston, we are a part of,” Yates said. “We are always a staple in our community, and we love getting out and showing our brand and our market.”
The festival also featured the Peanut Pageant, a tradition in which children compete for “peanut royalty” titles. The pageant was among the activities that brought families together during the annual celebration.
Another festival attraction was the free grilled peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, which have become a tradition of their own.
The sandwiches were provided by the National Peanut Buying Points Association, a trade organization representing businesses that receive peanuts from farmers after harvest and prepare them for storage and shelling.
Tyron Spearman, the association’s executive director, said he learned how to make the grilled sandwiches from a farmer in Georgia. One day, the farmer showed him how to prepare a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in a skillet and suggested taking the idea to festivals.
“He said if you take that peanut butter and jelly and go to all these festivals, then you will sell more peanut butter than we can produce, and that’s why we are doing it,” Spearman said.
Spearman said he taught local peanut farmers how to grill the sandwiches. Those farmers helped him distribute sandwiches to attendees at this year’s festival, bringing people involved in growing the crop into the celebration.
Spearman said serving peanut butter and jelly sandwiches had become a longtime festival tradition, with Jif donating the peanut butter and Smucker’s donating the jelly. Over the years, he said, attendees had come to associate their festival visits with getting a sandwich.
“I have been here for 25 years coming and doing this, so I am setting a record,” Spearman said. “This may be my last, I don’t know. But we have done it every year, and people keep coming back saying, ‘This is the reason I come to the festival, is to get my sandwich.’” “They have ownership in this project, and it is always good to have them come get themselves a peanut butter and jelly.”
Although peanuts were the focus of the celebration, attendees also had other food options. Vendors offered fair foods such as deep-fried Oreos and funnel cakes, along with seafood and fresh lemonade.
Family activities included a train ride, face painting and henna tattoos. Visitors could also browse vendors selling sourdough bread, crocheted items, wood carvings, jewelry and other goods.
Alongside the food, shopping and children’s activities, a car and tractor show celebrated Levy County’s rural roots.
For some attendees, the festival was an opportunity to experience a town they had previously only passed through.
Brenda Willis said her sister saw an advertisement for the festival on Facebook. The sisters, who were visiting from out of town, booked an Airbnb so they could attend the peanut festival.
“We go through this town every time we go to Alabama, and I don’t really think anything of it,” Willis said. “But everybody has been really great and very, very nice.”
Willis said she and her sister love peanuts, which drew them to the festival this year. It was their first time attending, but she said they planned to return next year.
The festival began in 1989 to celebrate the local peanut harvest. Organizers advertised more than 100 craft, food and business vendors for this year’s event at Heritage Park.
Battle said the response to social media posts and advertisements led her to expect a record year. She said the festival was created to highlight peanut farmers and Williston’s agricultural community, a purpose that continues through its food and activities.
“Of course, it’s peanuts. Boiled peanuts, dry-roasted peanuts, and Williston Peanuts with the grilled peanut butter and jellies that are free every year are something everyone loves,” Battle said.