88 Fun Run participants. 51 vendors. 44 beauty pageant contestants. 31 cars in the car show.

By all accounts, the inaugural Peanut Boil Festival was a success.

“We were overwhelmed by the turnout,” said Chamber of Commerce president Martha Dickey. “It was much better than most expected.”

Next door at the World’s Largest Peanut Boil, things also went better than expected.

Last year, the Shrine Club boiled 16 tons of peanuts.

With new equipment, that number grew to 21 tons this year.

Dickey said they’re not yet sure of the number of people who attended the festival, but it’s estimated that over 2,000 were there.

“We’re working on an actual number so that we can better plan for next year,” she said.

She also said that the Chamber has received positive feedback from the vendors, many of whom sold out before the day was over.

“A lot of them said they want to come back next year,” Dickey said. “Things went very smoothly. Our cheerleaders and Chamber Belles and Beaus worked very hard. Whoever said teens aren’t hard-working doesn’t know this bunch.”

Plans are already being made for the second annual Peanut Boil Festival.

“We’re going to have a meeting soon to talk about what we can improve,” Dickey said. “I‘ve already had people come up and say that they want to help out next year.”