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Come celebrate a Southern tradition and have a TEArrific Time at the One and Only Alabama Sweet Tea Festival! This sweet event is steeped, stirred and ready to be served up in Enterprise, Alabama from 3 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 17, at the Enterprise Civic Center and Festival Field.Following the resounding success of last year's festival, the planners have spiced up the recipe even more! This year's festival promises to be an unforgettable experience and will pay tribute to the greatest of all Southern drinks through sweet tea tastings, a Best Home-Brew competition, sweet Southern dining experiences, shopping opportunities with craft, retail and produce vendors, live music and so much more!
More than 80 vendors will provide you with plenty of shopping “opportuniteas.” Crafters offer a variety of products from boutique clothing options, toys, leather, wood and metal creations, crocheted items, hats, art, books, toys and all type of novelties as well as useful, functional items.
Food vendors can satisfy almost any craving. From bakery treats, hot dogs and hamburgers to more adventurous fare offer an exploration to tingle the taste buds. Of course, tea is the drink of the day. Some vendors are offering free tea or discounts on tea for the day. Soft drinks and lemonades of all flavors will be available at the Festival as well.
For customers’ convenience on a hot day, some food vendors have designed shaded, decorated seating areas to make eating and drinking more comfortable.
For festival-goers who love drinking tea, and might be interested in the prizes and prestige of winning the Tea-Chugging Contest, sign up for a chance to compete at 6 p.m. in the Main Tent. Y’all Sweet Tea is sponsoring the contest, and owners Darien Craig and Brandon Echols will emcee and livestream the contest. Be a good sport and come to the Festival with your compeTeative spirits high.
If you think you make the best sweet tea, or your grandma does, you’ll want to enter your tea in the Judges’ Best Home Brew CompeTeation or the Best Home Brew People’s Choice Contest, or both! Samples of the People’s Choice tea entries will be served to festival-goers in the Tasting Tent from 3 p.m. until the tea runs out! Samplers will then be able to vote for their favorite teas.
Restaurants, food trucks and food vendors can also compete to see who has the best tea in town. The Tea Pro-Master CompeTeation will also be a People’s Choice category. Samples will be served in the Tasting Tent so everyone can enjoy their favorites and vote for the best.
For more details about these contests, go to www.alabamasweetteafestival.com and register today!
New additions to the Festival this year are “Tea ParTeas.” These unique events aren’t necessarily the classic or traditional types of tea parties, but will no doubt be lovely, fun and even intriguing. Those wishing to attend can pre-register to ensure a spot.
The Fancy Fork and Gina’s Cookie Crumbs are teaming up to do three cookie-decorating parties. Go to The Fancy Fork Facebook page for the “Tea-rrific” details.
Lunation will host an “Enchanted Tea Party” complete with iced and hot tea and tea leaf readings! You won’t want to miss that.
Go to the Lunation Facebook page to find out how to register.
For those who are really coming to parTEA, you can sip on sweet tea and tap your hands and feet to the tunes of three awesome musical performers. Kicking off the music at 3:30 p.m. at the main stage is Christian Country artist Curtis Williams, followed by Nashville recording artist Shane Owens. Shane is a Wiregrass native who you will remember for his touching patriotic ballot, "Nineteen." Owens will also likely treat the audience to other favorites such as "God and the Ground She Walked On" and "All the Beer in Alabama" as well as his new music you’ll be hearing about soon.
The Sweet Tea Trio will take the stage at 7 p.m., returning to the Sweet Tea Festival, fittingly for the second year. Fresh off a tour around the country, including a stop in Phoenix, Ariz., to sing the National Anthem at a Diamondbacks game, the Trio is ready to treat us to tunes from the “Sugar Rush” album along with some of their future hits as we celebrate a beloved beverage that has long been a staple of Southern culture.
One goal of the Alabama Sweet Tea Festival is to recognize the tea industry and related industries in our state, and we are delighted to have some of them with us at this year’s Festival.
We are looking forward to the return of Milo’s Tea Company, with their great jugged and bottled teas and lemonade. Milo’s is a family-owned business started in 1946 by a World War II veteran and his wife. Today, Milo’s fresh-brewed tea is sold in thousands of locations across the country. Milo’s will be hosting a game tent at the Festival this year.
We also are so happy to welcome Royal Cup Coffee & Tea, one of the oldest companies in Alabama. Its humble roots were grounded in 1846 when the founder began selling coffee from his horse-drawn wagon. Today, the company imports, roasts and distributes premium coffee and tea around the nation and beyond. Royal Cup representatives will enjoy greeting you at their tent.
Along with the older companies, the Alabama Sweet Tea Festival is excited to welcome a very young company to the Festival mix - Y’all Sweet Tea. Owners Darien Craig and Brandon Echols are bringing their enthusiasm and energy to the Festival to showcase their packaged tea blends. They will be hosting the Tea Chugging Contest and invite all tea lovers to enter this fun contest at 6 p.m. at the Main Tent.
Y’all Sweet Tea was launched in 2021 but actually started in 2015 when Darien decided his family’s tea recipe was so good that he began selling it at area farmers markets for other people to enjoy as well.
To help festival-goers beat the heat until the sun sets on Saturday, misting tents will be available. Water stations will also be set up on the Festival grounds and a cooling area will be located inside the Civic Center.
This year, vendors are located inside the Civic Center as well as outside. While shopping inside the Civic Center, you will be entertained periodically throughout the day by local instrumentalist Ken LeBlanc.
Bathrooms will be available inside the Civic Center and on the Festival Field.
Whether you're a seasoned tea aficionado or simply looking to experience the magic of small-town Alabama hospitality, you won't want to miss this TEArrific event!
Thank you to our Sponsors for helping up serve up this Sweet Event.
Gallon Sponsors:
Alabama Tourism Department
Milo's Tea
Y'all Sweet Tea
Royal Cup Coffee and Tea
Hello Chonky Cookie Company
Sam Boswell Honda, Buick, GMC
Visit Enterprise
Quart Sponsors:
Chick-fil-A
Milky Moo's Deli & Creamery
Murphy Family Restaurants-McDonald's
Pope Tents and Events
WTVY-FM 95.5
Zaxby's
For more information VISIT our website alabamasweetteafestival.com or email [email protected], or call Kay Kirkland at 334-348-2310 or Tammy Doerer at 334-389-1554.
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Enterprise Civic Center, 2401 Neil Metcalf Road,Enterprise, Alabama, United States