Heat, humidity and a brief downpour of rain didn’t stop the peaches from selling out at the Chattanooga Market’s second annual Peach Festival on Sunday at the First Tennessee Pavilion.
“It was just fantastic,” said Paul Smith, general manager for the Chattanooga Market. “Chattanooga really showed up for it.”
In the festival’s second year, Mr. Smith said the amount of peaches brought by regional farmers doubled compared to last year. The four farmers, from Soddy-Daisy, Sale Creek, Alabama and Georgia, began selling peaches at 11 a.m. and had sold them all by 2:30 p.m.
Around 1,000 baskets of peaches were sold, Mr. Smith said. He estimated 75 percent of those came from Hazelrig Orchards in Cleveland, Ala.
“There wasn’t a peach left in the market after about three hours,” farmer Michael Hazelrig said. “They went fast.”