26th Annual RC-Moon Pie Festival ™

What:              26th Annual RC-Moon Pie Festival ™

When:             June 19, 2021 Saturday 7:00 am until 5:00 pm

Where:           Bell Buckle, Tennessee

Who:              Bell Buckle Chamber of Commerce

The wait is over!  Bell Buckle’s crowd favorite RC-MoonPie Festival and 10M & 5K Run is back on the schedule on the third Saturday in June just like 2020 never happened (don’t we all wish)!  Bell Buckle will be making lemonade in many forms and fashions from all those lemons that rained down in 2020.  Lemonade is the taste of summertime happiness so let the lemonade parade begin!

Known as the first “fast food” meal, these two Southern traditions, RC and a Moon Pie, are brought together for a grand celebration Bell Buckle style.  The idea for the Festival first began in 1994 as a way to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the MoonPie and to bring tourists to Bell Buckle.  Bell Buckle called the Chattanooga Bakery to see about throwing a Birthday Party for MoonPie.  Little could anyone have expected what a huge event this would become!

The Festival begins with the “Sweetest Race Ever” – the Bell Buckle RC-MoonPie 10 Mile and 5K Run.   Both courses are certified and attract enough runners to quadruple the population of Bell Buckle!  The 10 Mile Run has been going strong for 26 years while the 5K was added four years ago to satisfy all those requests for another race option!   Both of these certified courses have become a major running competition with well over 1,000 runners entering each year.  The race includes a t-shirt for all registered runners, Finisher’s Medals, awards in all age categories, and a full breakfast.  Registration and all other information pertaining to the race can be found at https://bellbucklerc-moonpie10mileand5krun.com/.

The day continues with entertainment at the Captain Rodney stage including cloggers and musical entertainment featuring John Allan Miller.  He is one fun artist and will have the crowd laughing, singing and talking about how much fun the festival was for the remainder of the year.  John will be available for autographs and photos at the Bell Buckle Mural in the alley after his last performance so get your selfies ready! 

The perennial crowd pleaser RC-MoonPie Parade will begin at 11:15 meandering down Main Street to the Bell Buckle downtown area where moonpies are tossed to the crowd to the delight of all!  Immediately after the parade, the Coronation of the 2021 Festival King and Queen will be held. The Bell Buckle Chamber of Commerce is proud to announce that Officers Tylor Luellen, Michael Sipos, James Wells, Amanda Topping, Brenna Hosey, and Timothy Miller, the first responding officers of the Nashville Christmas Day bombing of 2020, will serve as the 2021 Kings and Queen of the Bell Buckle RC-MoonPie Festival.  What a proud moment for Bell Buckle and all of us to honor and celebrate these heroic officers!

The rest of the day will be filled with the RC-MoonPie games featuring the MoonPie toss, RC Walk while balancing an RC or two or more, and many other of the crowd favorites!  Enjoy contests, art and craft booths, live entertainment, and food booths featuring such Southern fares as Tennessee Smoked Barbecue, hand squeezed lemonade and deep fat fried Moon Pies! 

The sweetest ending to the day is the cutting of the World’s Largest Moon Pie!  In Bell Buckle, we say “let them eat pie” because that’s the best way of all. 

Smiles have been scarce in the last year. Time for all that to change. Time to smile. Time to laugh.   Time to celebrate.  Time to slow down and appreciate the good things that life offers.  Bell Buckle invites you to visit and make a little lemonade out of those lemons with us any time and especially on Saturday, June 19th for the Bell Buckle RC-MoonPie Festival!

A day of fun for young and old alike celebrating THREE southern traditions:  RC Colas, Moon Pies AND

Bell Buckle, Tennessee- Close To Home But A World Away.

Bell Buckle Chamber of Commerce

Images available for press use:  www.BellBuckleChamber.com

Email:  info@BellBuckleChamber.com

2021 RCMP Schedule

7:00am                       Annual Bell Buckle Chamber 10 Mile & 5K Run

8:30-9:00am              Bell Buckle Chamber 5K run Awards

9:00am                      Craft Fair/ Food Court (Open All Day)

9:00-10:00am            Midstate Cloggers

10:00-10:30am          Bell Buckle Chamber 10 Mile Run Awards

10:30-11:15am          Midstate Cloggers

11:15am                     Bee City USA Proclamation

11:15am                     RC Cola and MoonPie PARADE

12:00pm                     RC Cola and MoonPie KING & QUEEN Coronation

12:45-1:30pm            Musical Entertainment

1:30-2:00pm             RC Cola & MoonPie Games

Prizes for:  farthest travelled, youngest attendee present & oldest attendee present

2:00-2:45pm              Musical Entertainment & Photo/Autograph Opportunities

2:45-4:00pm              RC Cola & MoonPie Games

4:00  PM                     WORLD’S LARGEST MOONPIE Served!

MEDIA CONTACT: 

Jenny Hunt

jennywhunt@gmail.com