ONE IN A MILLION: The staff of Nick-A-Million, LLC were hard at work throughout the day providing the eventgoers with classic Southern cooking and festival food. Having operated for fifteen years, they've been regulars at the Pepper Festival for at least six years, and certainly plan on coming back for future events.

OMEGA — For twenty years and counting, the Omega Pepper Festival has spiced up the start of September with fun for the residents of Tift County, and this year has proved to be no different.

The festival was once again on fire the weekend of Sep. 8, filling Omega’s Ponder Park with a full day and a half of music, food, games and festival fun.

While the opening ceremonies Friday night were briefly rained upon, the vendors and guests were nonetheless able to thoroughly enjoy the evening performances from the Headline Band and Los Compas de Nuevos.

The following day, however, barely a cloud could be seen in the sky as the floats and vehicles participating in the Pepper Parade marched down U.S. 319 through the middle of town.

Many organizations, businesses and persons familiar to the parade made a return this year, including Omega’s mayor Ray Hunt, Jr., who accompanied a massive pepper on a trailer being pulled by a tractor, the marching band of Tift County High School, and the decked-out Jeep “Venom,” now fully equipped with a trailer and a posse of skeletons decorating its front bumper.

While the lack of cloud cover certainly made the afternoon a hot one, the attendees of the festival eagerly partook in the vendors and attractions spread throughout the town park, of which there seemed to be many more than last year.

Organizer LaDonna Stripling reported having nearly seventy vendors attend this year’s festival, completely circling not only the outer perimeter, but starting a second ring around the park’s open field.

Food vendors clustered on the side of the park near the clubhouse, providing enough options to create a full alleyway and then some of food. Festival attendees had plenty of cuisines to choose from, including Mexican, barbecue, Americana, and classic festival food.

Merchandise and services from the other vendors around the park were just as varied–from jewelry to jellies, freeze-dried candy to freewheeling boutiques, and homemade hot sauce to henna painting, this festival seemed to have something for everyone.

The younger guests of the festival had plenty to entertain them as well, as the festival’s souped up kids’ zone brought plenty of attractions for them to enjoy.

The rock climbing wall and bounce houses made their regular appearances, but kids could also try their luck at mini-golf from Sinkin’ Putts or meet some furry friends at the petting zoo.

Musical performances were put on throughout the day at center stage, including shows from the Holy Smoke Band, Reid Soria of Autism Sings, and musical duo 2RiverStation. Guests were invited to dance along to their favorite bands and songs on the newly created dance floor right in front of the stage.

The stage was also where the winners for the best floats and vehicles in the parade were announced. Divided between floats and decorated vehicles, a trio of judges ranked the means of transport for each participant in the parade on their design, adherence to their theme, and the enthusiasm of its passengers.

First place in floats was given to Maple Street Church for their “Fishers of Man” float, while “Venom” took home the gold in decorated vehicles. The teams behind both vehicles received cash prizes for their victory

Cash prizes were also given to the second through fourth place and honorable mention floats and the second placed vehicle, with the positions respectively going to Randy Paulk and his colorfully decorated van “It’s A Small World,” the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church of Moultrie, the Kids Advocacy Coalition, and Ponder Meats and Produce for floats and a Jeep decked out in stars and stripes for decorated vehicles.

Organizers of both the parade and the festival expressed immense satisfaction in this year’s events, especially given it being such a big year for the celebration. Several vendors new and old alike were also more than eager to reprise their roles in next year’s festivities. Planning for the next event won’t begin until next year, but fans of the festival can certainly expect it to continue growing bigger and better–and for the tradition to continue spicing up September for some time to come.