OMEGA, Ga. — For over 15 years, the community has gathered in Omega to celebrate the annual Omega Pepper Festival

The two-day festival kicked off Sept. 13 at Ponder Park, including musical performances, fresh cooked food, and a parade.

It started 16 years ago. Omega had an exceptional pepper harvest and it was one of the main crops produced in the area, according to Pepper Festival Director Gwen Robinson.

“Now we celebrate community, bringing people together,” said Robinson. “It’s a way to get your neighbors and the people living in the community. We hope this event brings in tourism and promotes our local economy.”

Robinson has helped organize the event for seven years. She initially started assisting the former director, Joy Lott, and eventually stepped into the director position. This year was her fourth year being the director.

Though the pepper yield has decreased over the years, the community tradition of finding a reason to celebrate every September remains strong.

The festival brought out hundreds of people both days and the most popular event was the parade that happened Saturday at 10:30 a.m. on Alabama Avenue. Businesses, school and community organizations participated in the parade while tossing out candy to the bystanders.

The Tift County Blue Devil Marching Band proudly played a tune as they participated in the parade. Despite the constant sound from speakers and crowd cheering, the student musicians could be well heard above the buzz of the parade.

Some of the organizations that participated in the parade were Tift County Fire/Rescue, the Tift County Sheriff’s Office, Martinez Lawncare, the Combat Vet association, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, Omega Methodist Church, Bethel Baptist Church and horseback riders, among        others.

Multiple vendors sold popcorn, snow cones and funnel cakes. Restaurants also participated in the festival. Under Construction BBQ, Sally’s Seafood and aMAIZE’n Dogs served lots of happy customers on Saturday.

The musical performances included an Elvis tribute singer, the Last Chance Band and NAJ Band. The Reptile Guys came out and brought animals to show to interested children in the crowd. The Queens of Dance also provided a performance that lit up the crowd.

This festival had free entry and the costs for the entertainment came at no expense for the community. According to Robinson, the festival committee just hopes to break even every year.

“All of the fundraisers that we do, we use that money to pay for everything you see at the festival,” said Robinson. “This doesn’t cost a parent anything to bring their child here unless they pay for something from one of the vendors.”

“If it wasn’t for the volunteers that help put this Pepper Festival on every year, we wouldn’t have this,” Robinson added. “We have a lot of folks in our community that step up and do what needs to happen.”

Many Tift County businesses purchased advertising in the festival programs that were handed out that helped fund the costs of the large event. The major sponsors for the festival were Hale’s Heating & Air, Patrick Family Farm, South Georgia Banking Company, Allen Pritchett & Bassett, Lewis Taylor Farms, Quality Produce and Skip Hill Associates.