The Weirdest And Wackiest Festival In All Of Arkansas You Can't Miss This Year
By J.B. VanDyke|Published June 20, 2017
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J.B. VanDyke
Author
J.B. Weisenfels has lived in rural Arkansas for three decades. She is a writer, a mom, and a graduate student. She is also an avid collector of tacky fish whatnots, slightly chipped teapots, and other old things. In her spare time she enjoys driving to the nearest creek to sit a while. If you were to visit her, she'd try to feed you cornbread.
I’d like to think we all know the Natural State has some of the best and weirdest festivals ever, especially in our small towns. We celebrate watermelons and pink tomatoes and Toad Suck…but there’s another festival you may not have heard of quite yet, and it might just be the weirdest of them all. Way down in south Arkansas, just six miles from the Louisiana border, you’ll find a tiny town called Emerson. When I say “tiny,” I mean tiny. Fewer than 400 people live in Emerson. Lots and lots of folks from all over show up for Emerson’s not-so-little festival, because the Purple Hull Pea Festival and World Championship Rotary Tiller Race is absolutely one of the most awesome festivals anywhere.
This year (2017) the Purple Hull Pea Festival is happening on June 23 & 24. You can find a full schedule of events and other information at this link.