Excitement continues to build for the upcoming Greenville GRITS Festival, scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 30, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in historic Confederate Park. More than 20 vendors are slated to sell their wares at the event, which will also feature live music, magic shows, children’s games and craft activities – and plenty of that hot and tasty southern specialty, grits.

Got great grits?

Cooks who consider their grits to be &uot;the best in the land&uot; are encouraged to bring their favorite grits dish and recipe for the Great GRITS Cook-off that morning.

&uot;Have your grits at the park by 10:30 Saturday morning and be sure and bring a copy of the recipe…we’ll have judges doing some taste-testing to choose the best grits in Greenville,&uot; says Main Street Director Nancy Idland.

Attendees will also get to create their own unique grits dish from the smorgasbord offered that day – shrimp grits, onion grits, cheese grits and more. A Grits and Biscuits Recipe Booklet is also in the works, Idland says.

Goodies galore

According to Idland, a variety of goods will be displayed and sold by Greenville GRITS Festival vendors.

Local artisan Dale Gates will be on hand with a collection of his award-winning stained glass art.

&uot;Dale does fabulous work and I know everyone will enjoy seeing it,&uot; says Idland. There will also be a variety of &uot;fun and precious&uot; children’s clothing and ladies’ handbags, &uot;all the rage right now.&uot;

Craftsman Austin Bowman will be showing and selling his woodwork items while Rosemary Jordan will display her handcrafted mosaics. Candles, colorful enamelware with a country flavor, original art, hand-painted note cards and other items will all be among those displayed at the GRITS Festival.

&uot;McFerrin’s Jewelry will be offering their usual collection of unique finds at fantastic bargain prices, also,&uot; adds Idland.

With the holidays almost upon us, the Greenville Main Street director wants to remind everyone the GRITS Festival will be a wonderful opportunity to shop early and support local businesses, artists and artisans.

&uot;The Greenville GRITS Festival offers fun for all ages and we hope to see lots of folks come out and join us that Saturday,&uot; Idland says.

For more information, contact Nancy Idland at 381-3041.