Delta Hot Tamale Festival Takes Top Honors

According to Mississippi Magazine’s 2021 Best of Mississippi Readers’ Poll, the Delta Hot Tamale Festival is the Best Fair or Festival in the state of Mississippi. After being nominated for this award in previous years, 2021 marks the first time the festival has received top honors.

Each spring readers from all over the region participate in Mississippi Magazine’s annual poll. This year’s contest featured several notable fairs and festivals across the state, including the Canton Flea Market, Double Decker Arts Festival in Oxford, Laurel Loblolly Festival, Mississippi Book Festival, Mississippi Comic Con, Mississippi Science Festival, Mississippi State Fair, Neshoba County Fair, and the Peter Anderson Festival in Ocean Springs – with the Delta Hot Tamale Festival emerging as the winner after all ballots were counted.  “We are truly honored and humbled by this recognition,” said Daniel Boggs, CEO of Greater Greenville Development Foundation, Inc., “all of the nominees are well accomplished in our state, drawing a significant number of attendees from both inside and outside of Mississippi’s borders. We are proud to be listed among them.”

Held the third weekend in October each year, the Delta Hot Tamale Festival is a 3-day long literary, culinary, and musical celebration that attracts over 28,000 festivalgoers from 17 different states and 3 different countries. As the “Hot Tamale Capital of the World,” Greenville has been honoring its favorite delicacy with a festival since 2012. The tradition has grown to include over 100 craft vendors, 2 days of nonstop music on three separate stages, and some of the most unique hot tamale vendors within the region.
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Plans for the 2021 festival are underway, and Main Street Greenville, the administrators of the event, says to expect a few changes. “We strive to make the festival better each year by thoroughly examining every aspect,” says Boggs, “This year is no different. While October’s festival will have many of the familiar events of the past, we are excited about the enhancements to this year’s festival.”

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