OMEGA — The city of Omega is preparing to heat things up once again this weekend.

The Omega Pepper Festival is set to return to Ponder Park Friday and Saturday, bringing food, fun, and pepper-related festivities to the town that straddles the Tift-Colquitt county line.

Participants in the event can expect many of the activities and attractions that they’ve come to fondly associate with the Pepper Festival, including the morning Pepper Parade, dozens of vendors of various trades filling the grounds of Ponder Park, games and activities for the kids, and all the festival food one could ask for.

Some vendors have even reported interest in hosting their own games and competitions to spice the festivities up — Moultrie-based saucemaker Carter’s Pepper Hut has recently announced that in addition to participating in the festival, they would be hosting a pepper eating contest the afternoon of Sept. 14, giving away two bottles of the winner’s choice of hot sauce.

The festival will also be accompanied by musical performances from local and more widespread bands and musicians across both days of its run, including the Mood Doctors, the Page Brothers, and sierreño group Marca Distinta, who are slated to perform Friday night as part of the festival’s opening ceremonies.

The Pepper Festival will take place across Friday and Saturday this weekend, running from 6 to 10 p.m. Friday night and from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday. The parade will begin at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, while the musical performances will start at 11:30.