Annual Vardaman Sweet Potato Festival

VARDAMAN, Miss. (WCBI) – The annual Vardaman Sweet Potato Festival took place in downtown Vardaman Saturday and drew in people from all over the Magnolia State.

Over 250 different vendors were set up along Main Street and sold everything from food, art, clothes, jewelry and more.

The festival has been a mainstay in Vardaman for over 45 years now.

“It is just really good for the community. It brings everyone together in a sense and just over all brings in a lot of revenue for the town and for the city,” says Pear Tree Pottery owner Lisa Windham.

Hundreds of people gathered for the annual Sweet Potato Festival. Vardaman Mayor James Casey says the festival is symbolic of what the sweet potato has done for the community.

“That’s what Vardaman exists on. If it wasn’t for the sweet potatoes, we’d probably be dried up like a lot of the other small communities that have dried up in the last 20 years,” says Casey.

And pretty much anywhere you look at in the festival, you can find products made from sweet potatoes.

“We make pies, cakes, cookies, fudge, marmalade, water…we do sweet potato salsa and we also have dog treats,” says sweet potato baker Brenda Pizarro.

The event is so big. Many vendors have to spend weeks preparing for the crowd.

“We bake all day, everyday, and for the festival it’s been like two weeks of cooking,” says Pizarro.

All of the sweet potatoes are produced and sold in Vardaman.

“We’re known for our sweet potatoes, so this is a great way for the people that come here to the festival to try things made out of Vardaman Sweet Potatoes,” says Vardaman Elementary School Teacher Kalyn Sims.

But it’s not just sweet potatoes that are selling. Local artist Lisa Windham says her hot ticket items are mainly related to college football.

“Anything bulldog right now… anything with bulldogs. People collect them, then of course you know with MSU, I sell a lot of that. Then, I also sell a lot of rebels so those are probably my number one sellers,” says Windham.

In addition to a boost in sells and stimulating the local economy, my vendors say they enjoy the social interaction.

“I like meeting people. I’m a people person. I like meeting people,” says Danny’s Pork Skins owner Daniel Rast.