The city of Clanton will celebrate an annual tradition this weekend.
The sixteenth Peach Jam Jubilee is Saturday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. at Clanton City Parks. The festival begins with a Chilton County Cruisers car show and a farmer’s market. Visitors can partake in various family-friendly events including a hot air balloon ride, inflatables, Touch-a-Truck and a sensory area.
Rachel Martin is the executive director for the Chilton County Chamber of Commerce. She said in addition to lots of fun, this event is a great way to commemorate the county’s history and its workers.
“Chilton County is the number one producer for peaches in the state, and we’re very proud of it,” she said. “It’s got a deep history here. We like to feel like we are celebrating the peach farmers, the industry and what it means to Chilton County and how it’s put us on the map. That’s really what we want to do is just to honor those farmers and that tradition.”
More than 200 arts and crafts vendors and 40 food trucks will attend. Miss Alabama and her team will also make an appearance, celebrating the introduction of the county’s newest peach queen.
The main stage will open at 3 p.m. with a local Chilton County’s Got Talent show before live entertainment starts at 5 p.m. Among the performers Saturday night are Niko Moon, Callista Clark, Michael Warren and The Woods trio.
While Martin enjoys all aspects of the festival, she said watching the main stage is her favorite part.
“At the end of the day, when the music does start, everyone kind of trickles over to that area,” she said. “You’ll see people sitting in lawn chairs, sitting on blankets, kids dancing and playing. It’s really like it’s something from a Hallmark movie, and it makes you just feel proud to be from this town, somewhere where we’re putting this on.”
Chilton County Chamber of Commerce estimates more than 20,000 people will attend this year’s jubilee, up 5,000 from last year’s attendance of 15,000. This is more than double the attendance from 2015. Martin said the event draws visitors far beyond the city, which positively impacts the development of the area.
“It draws in visitors from all around,” she said. “People travel from other states to come to this, and that’s bringing in tax revenue. That will help improve our infrastructure, our school systems, everything. People come in and they spend their money. That trickles down throughout the entire county. It’s just had a great impact on our economy.”
This year’s Peach Jam Jubilee is free. Readers can visit www.peachjamjubilee.com to learn more about the event’s location and areas for public parking. Though the festival covers a wide area, shuttles are available to drive people to the main events.
