By Ryan Lewis
Correspondent
SOUTH PITTSBURG, Tenn. — The signs indicating the National Cornbread Festival is near begin to appear around the end of March every year.
The sidewalks get a good pressure-washing. Flowers are planted along the streets, and fresh, vibrant paint is brushed on wherever it’s needed.
The downtown area of South Pittsburg gets a face lift from a large group of volunteers who want to show they are proud of their town.
“It would be impossible to have this festival without volunteers,” said Sammy Burrows, National Cornbread Festival volunteer coordinator. “Our community has stepped up and taken ownership in the festival.”
Mr. Burrows said he doesn’t have an exact count of volunteers, but he knows there are more than 1,000.
“I order 830 volunteer T-shirts, but not (everyone) wears a T-shirt,” he said. “Some, like the Boy Scouts and the auxiliary police, don’t wear the volunteer T-shirt.”
Today is Sparkle Day, the culmination of the cleanup. More than 100 people are expected to gather at City Hall early this morning and canvas the town for three hours or more picking up trash.
“Sparkle Day is about cleaning up for the festival, but doing so on a civic and voluntary basis,” South Pittsburg Mayor Mike Killians said.
IF YOU GOThe 14th annual National Cornbread Festival will be held in downtown South Pittsburg on April 24-25. For more information, visit www.nationalcornbread.com.
He said the volunteer spirit his town shows each year is unbelievable.
“Our people are willing to give up their time and effort to make things happen,” he said. “They exert so much for this one event. It has helped this town immeasurably over the years.”
Ryan Lewis is based in Marion County. Contact him at ryanlewis34@gmail.com.
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