Vidalia Onion Festival
No crying is allowed at the 35th annual Vidalia Onion Festival, set for April 26 through 29, 2012, in (where else?) Vidalia, Georgia.
Each spring, the town anticipates the harvest of Georgia’s Official State Vegetable, the Vidalia Sweet Onion. The occasion is celebrated with an array of activities over four days.
There’s no admission charge for the festival, held at the Vidalia Regional Airport, 107 Old Airport Road (map), but you do have to pay $5 to park on Thursday and Sunday, and $10 to park on Friday and Saturday.
Pre-festival activities begin with a youth boys’ baseball tournament, the Miss Vidalia Onion Pageant, the Golden Onion Chef Competition, Battle of the Bands and more.
The inaugural Golden Onion professional cooking competition will be held on April 22, 2012, as the official kick-off to the festival. The competition is open to the public starting at 12:30 p.m. (tickets are $10 at the door). The competition is presented by the Vidalia Onion Festival Committee in cooperation with the Vidalia® Onion Committee, Georgia Department of Economic Development, and the Georgia Restaurant Association. It was conceived by Atlanta-based freelance food and travel writer/editor Hope S. Philbrick (a friend of your Road Trips Foodie‘s), who will serve as one of five judges.
A children’s parade and opening ceremonies begin the weekend’s activities, which include a street dance, Sweet Onion car show, arts & crafts festival, Sweet Saturday Downtown Sidewalk Sale, onion eating contest, Vidalia Onion Recipe Contest, Public Tasting and Culinary Extravaganza.
(Photo courtesy of Vidalia Onion Festival)
