North Columbia Business Association Hosts the SC Cornbread Festival | Arts & Culture

The North Columbia Business Association will host the first South Carolina Cornbread Festival on Saturday, March 2, 2013 from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. at the 2800 block of Main St at the corner of Main St. and Newman St. Admission to the festival is free.

The mission of the festival is to raise diabetes awareness throughout the community while celebrating a South Carolina tradition with a healthy twist.

The Little Miss Muffin pageant will be held Friday, March 1 at 6 p.m. at the Lutheran Seminary, located at 4301 North Main St. The pageant is a natural beauty contest for females, ages 6-25 years old. Registration is closed at this time.

On Saturday, March 2 the Diabetes Awareness 5k Run/Walk will begin at 8:30 a.m.  To pre-register, visit www.strictlyrunning.com. Pre-registrations closes at 2 p.m. on Friday, March 1, but there will be open registration starting at 8 a.m. prior to the race.

The festival opens at 10 a.m. to the public after the race. There will be the “Corn Muffin Play Land” open to children under the age of 12 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Cornbread Lane, a tasting area, will be open from noon to 10 p.m., local vendors, free health screenings and more. “Cocky” will be in attendance along with Benedict College’s tiger mascot and Clemson University’s tiger.

The classic car and bike show will be from noon to 5 p.m. and judging for several categories will take place from 2 p.m. to 3:20 p.m.

Celebrity chef Melba Wilson will be judging the cornbread cook-off, which is happening from 10 a.m. to noon and judging begins at 2 p.m. She will also have a cookbook signing from 2-3 p.m.

J. Anthony Brown will be the Grand Marshal of the festival and emceeing on the main stage. He is a Columbia native, comedian, actor and national radio personality.                                                                                                     

Chairmen of the Board will be headlining the festival’s entertainment and the concert will begin at 8 p.m. The Mobros will kick-off the live entertainment at 3 p.m. on the main stage. Following them will be Men of Distinction, The Fantastic Shakers and The Finesse Band.

Sponsors of the festival are: City Of Columbia, Richland County, Pepsi, Adluh Flour, Healthy Columbia, BB&T Bank, Eau Claire Development Corporation, Budweiser, S.C. Lottery, First Citizens Bank, Cultural Council of Richland and Lexington Counties, Senior Connections- WIS TV.

For more information about the festival or to find out about volunteer opportunities for the festival, visit www.sccornbreadfestival.com.