Some things are just Mint to be Together. And of course the first things that comes to mind is an ice cold RC Cola and a MoonPie! And those two things were mint to be in Bell Buckle on Saturday, June 18th when the perennial crowd favorite Bell Buckle RC-MoonPie Festival and 10 Mile & 5K Run comes to life and explodes with fun! This Festival just keeps making people happy. Even Southern Living magazine picked up on the happiness this year with an article about the Bell Buckle Café being one of the best places to eat because it is that good AND because you can get chocolate, strawberry, banana, and lemon MoonPie Sundaes all year long. Imagine just making that Bell Buckle RC-MoonPie feeling last all year!
Every day is a friendly day in Bell Buckle, but none more so than the day of the RC-MoonPie Festival where everyone can “eat mo’ pie”! MoonPies are tossed into the crowd during the parade; tossed into the air during the MoonPie Toss games, and served as the pièce de résistance when the World’s Largest MoonPie is delivered and served to every single festival goer! And we never ever never release the flavor of that World’s Largest MoonPie before it’s presented at the end of the day. It’s just not how we mint to build that excitement. So you’ll not get even a hint of that flavor from us!
The “Sweetest Race Ever” starts the fun with the 10 Mile and 5K races. Both courses are certified and attract enough runners to quadruple the population of Bell Buckle! Both of these certified courses have become a major running competition with well over 1,000 runners entering each year. The race includes a t-shirt for all registered runners, Finisher’s Medals, awards in all age categories, and a full breakfast. Registration and all other information pertaining to the race can be found at https://bellbucklerc-moonpie10mileand5krun.com/. This race is just plain fun!
The festival gets going strong with entertainment on the festival grounds at the stage area with music, cloggers, tongue-in-cheek humor featuring The MoonPie Show on stage with some of your favorite characters and maybe a few new ones! The RC-MoonPie Parade delights the crowd-lined Main Street with MoonPies tossed into the crowd while escorting the King and Queen through the town to their final destination at the stage where the Commencement will commence as commencements must do!
This year’s King and Queen will be the fun kind of royalty that will reflect their wacky kingdom! The 2022 Bell Buckle RC-MoonPie King is none other than award-winning country recording artist Jimmy Wayne! Jimmy has performed at the Grand Ole Opry a whopping 224 times! He lives in neighboring Nashville and works tirelessly on behalf of at-risk foster youth. Jimmy’s hits include “Stay Gone,” “Paper Angels,” “I Love You This Much” and “Do You Believe Me Now,” which earned BMI’s prestigious Million-Air Award for receiving more than one million radio spins in America. In 2009, Jimmy toured with Brad Paisley and recorded “Sara Smile” with rock ‘n’ roll Hall of Fame duo Daryl Hall and John Oates. Jimmy has performed to a standing room only crowd at the Bell Buckle Banquet Hall recently and brought the house down with his crazy funny sense of humor which fits right in with Bell Buckle’s tongue-in-cheek way of life.
The Bell Buckle 2022 RC-MoonPie Queen is none other than the marvelous Jackie Marushka. Our Bell Buckle royalty is a bit of everything and a lot of over the topness! Her Royal Highness is a Leadership Music alum, a member of The Recording Academy, Country Music Association, Academy of Country Music, the American Association of Independent Music, and she proudly serves on the Academy Awards (Oscars) Public Relations team. Jackie is a marketing and entertainment industry guru! Jackie started Shore Fire Media's Nashville office (known for Bruce Springsteen, Lana Del Rey and others) as GM. Our Bell Buckle version of the Divine Miss M also makes time to serve as a board member for the Americana Music Association, MADD Tennessee, and the Tennessee Latin American Chamber of Commerce. Now this is really cool! As a certified Yoga and Pilates instructor, Jackie has invested in the lives of abused, neglected, and abandoned youth through yoga programs she founded non-profit organizations that serve at-risk youth in Tennessee. The heart of a royal volunteer right here!
The rest of the day will be filled with the RC-MoonPie games featuring the MoonPie toss, RC Walk while balancing an RC or two or more, and many other of the crowd favorites! Enjoy contests, art and craft booths, live entertainment, and food booths featuring such Southern fares as Tennessee Smoked Barbecue, hand squeezed lemonade and deep fat fried Moon Pies!
But wait, there is still the crème de la crème to come! The serving of the World’s Largest MoonPie serves as the day’s grand finale. What flavor will it be this year? A perennial favorite or a new flavor? Come to Bell Buckle on Saturday, June 18th and you’ll not only find out, you’ll get a piece of the pie to enjoy yourself!
The sweetest ending to the day is the cutting of the World’s Largest Moon Pie! In Bell Buckle, we say “let them eat pie” because that’s the best way of all.
A day of fun for young and old alike celebrating THREE southern traditions: RC Colas, Moon Pies AND Bell Buckle, Tennessee: Close To Home But A World Away.