What You Need to Know About Peach Festival 2016

2016 Louisiana Peach Festival design by Patrick Ferrell.
This year's theme is "A Peach of My Heart."

The 66th Annual Louisiana Peach Festival is right around the corner, and we're bringing you everything you need to know about attending this year's festival on June 24-25! Peach Festival weekend is packed full of fun events to appeal to people of all ages. Live music, food, children's activities, a peach cobbler eating contest and more exciting events are on the Peach Festival agenda this year! 

Traveling to Ruston for the festival?

If you're coming to the festival from out of town, you'll want to book a hotel room pretty soon (hotels fill up fast for this weekend)! We recommend booking a room at Hampton Inn, Sleep Inn & Suites, Fairfield Inn & Suites, Comfort Inn, Days Inn, and Holiday Inn Express. All of these hotels are less than 10 minutes away from Downtown Ruston, where the festival takes place. 

Friday, June 24 

• 8am: Kids' Fishing Tournament, Lincoln Parish Park 
  This fun tournament is open to kids ages 12 and under. Bring your own fishing pole; bait provided. No entry fee or pre-registration, just show up! 

• 8am-5pm: Peach Art Exhibit, Ruston City Hall
  For more than 25 years the North Central Louisiana Arts Council (NCLAC) has organized an art competition and show with cash and ribbon awards, to coincide with the Louisiana Peach Festival in Ruston. The exhibit features children and adults, with artwork spanning 8 different categories. 

• 5-10pm: The Peach Festival Opens, Downtown Ruston
  Starting at 5pm, come enjoy food vendors, rides, and more entertainment in the Railroad Park area. There will also be an ongoing BMX & Skateboard Show, and visitors may bring their helmets to participate in demos. There will also be a mini ramp for the little daredevils.

• 6pm: Tennis Tournament
  Once again, the festival tennis tournament will be played under the lights and not the hot sun! Women's doubles, men's doubles and mixed doubles. Matches start at 7pm on the Louisiana Tech home courts.

• 6pm: Rodeo, Northern Louisiana Exhibition Center 
  Roping, riding, clowns and more rodeo fun will be happening Friday and Saturday night. For more information call (318) 255-9377.

• 6:30-7:30pm: W.A.I.L., Railroad Park Stage 
  When All is Lost (W.A.I.L.) consists of 5 Central Louisiana guys. They deliver an authentic, polished rock and roll sound.

• 8-10pm: The Chee-Weez, Railroad Park Stage
  The Chee-Weez are a 5 piece tribute/show band of unmatched proportions. They cover songs from the 70s, 80s, 90s and throw a few surprises in along the way. Their world-famous show brings crazy costumes, giant video walls, lasers and lights, and pyro effects! This show is sure to be an experience.

A variety of live music will be featured during the festival in Railroad Park
Photo by: Devin Dronett 

Saturday, June 25

• 7am: Louisiana Peach Festival 5K and Fun Run/Walk
  Take an early morning run through part of Ruston and the Louisiana Tech campus. The run will start at the RHS football field. Registration forms can be found here.

• 8am-5pm: Peach Art Exhibit, Ruston City Hall
  For more than 25 years the North Central Louisiana Arts Council (NCLAC) has organized an art competition and show with cash and ribbon awards, to coincide with the Louisiana Peach Festival in Ruston. The exhibit features children and adults, with artwork spanning 8 different categories.

• 8am-5pm: Quilt & Fiber Art Show and Sale, The Fabric Shop
  Quilts, wall hangings, embroidered framed pictures, and many creative handmade fabric and fiber art accessories will be displayed, and many of these items will be for sale. A free piece of jewelry will be given to all adult ladies who view the Quilt & Fiber Art Show.

• 8am-6pm: Beta Sigma Phi Arts & Crafts Show, Ruston Civic Center
  You'll find handmade items and various types of arts and crafts diaplayed inside and outside of the Civic Center.

• 

  Food vendors cook up some tasty festival foods
  Photo by Devin Dronett

  8am-10pm: The Peach Festival Opens, Downtown Ruston
  Starting at 8am, come enjoy food vendors, rides, and more entertainment in the Railroad Park area. There will also be an ongoing BMX & Skateboard Show, and visitors may bring their helmets to participate in demos. There will also be a mini ramp for the little daredevils.

• 9-11am: "A Peach of My Heart" Parade, Downtown Ruston
  Peach dignitaries, floats, cheerleaders, clowns, music, marching groups and more will lead a parade through Downtown Ruston. The parade will start at the Thomas Assembly Center. Click here for a map of the the parade route.

• 9am-3pm: Antique Car Show, BancorpSouth Parking Lot 
  
  The Ruston Antique Car Club hosts this fun event showcasing old, classic cars.

• 11am: Diaper Derby, Trinity Center (Trinity United Methodist Church)
  Babies crawl and toddlers toddle a pre-set distance against the clock. There are 4 categories for children ages 6 months to 24 months. Entry forms can be found here.

• 11am-12:30pm - Roadhouse Band, Railroad Park Stage
  Come enjoy live music in Downtown Ruston

• 11am-4pm: Dinosaurs, Ruston Civic Center
  After the parade, life-like Dinosaurs will be roaming around! Bring the kids to pet and interact with them.

• 11am-5pm: Kids Activity Tent, Downtown Ruston
  There will be plenty to keep the little ones happy in the kids tent filled with lots of activities from The IDEA Place, North Central LA Arts Council (NCLAC), LSU Ag Center/4-H, and Lincoln Parish Library. Additional activities include: a performance by U.P.H.Y. (United Positive Humble Youth) Step Team, the Junior Auxiliary Puppet Show, and a book signing and reading of “Born to Be a Bulldog” by Author Amanda Cauley. There will also be a juggler, a hula hooper and a stilt walker. 

• 1-3pm: Zach O'Neil, Railroad Park Stage 
  Come enjoy live country music in Downtown Ruston.

• 2pm: Russ-Town Band Concert, Dixie Center for the Arts
  The Russ-Town Band will once again perform selections of Americana/Patriotic Music during the Louisiana Peach Festival. The concert is free to the public.

• 4-9pm: Dinosaurs, Railroad Park
  Dinosaurs will again be in Downtown Ruston during the evening! Bring the kids to pet and interact with these life-like dinosaurs! 

• 5 pm: Drawing for Peach Stops Game, Railroad Park 
  Participants do not need to be present to win. 

• 5:30-7pm:  LA Swamp Donkey, Railroad Park Stage
  Come enjoy some live "Southern Fried Rockin' Country" music in Downtown Ruston.

• 6pm: Rodeo, Northern Louisiana Exhibition Center 
  Roping, riding, clowns and more rodeo fun will continue Saturday night. For more information call (318) 255-9377.

• 7pm: Cobbler Gobbler Peach Cobbler Eating Contest, Downtown Ruston
  In honor of being named the Guinness World Record holder for the Largest Peach Cobbler, Hampton Inn will sponsor a peach cobbler eating contest, which is taking the place of the traditional peach eating contest. Not only will the winner receive the Cobbler Gobbler Championship Belt, but $1,000 is at stake! Only 10 contestants will be selected to participate, and contestants must pre-register. To enter, email Brandon Sutherland at brandon.sutherland@hilton.com and write Cobbler Gobbler in the subject line. Watch the video challenge here!

• 8pm: Bass Tournament, Lake D’Arbonne
  The tournament begins at 8 p.m. on Saturday and ends at 7 a.m. on Sunday. For more information call Mark Brasher (318) 245-2882.

• 8-10pm: Dylan Scott, Railroad Park Stage
  Dylan Scott is a current country music artists with a long list of  hits, including Crazy Over Me, Lay It On Me, Mmm Mmm Mmm, and Thinking Out Loud. Making This Boy Go Crazy has sold in excess of 130,000 units with well over 2.5 millions views of the accompanying music video. Don't miss him this year at the Louisiana Peach Festival. 

Admission
Free for children 6 and under 
$10 Friday one-day pass
$10 Saturday one-day pass
$15 Weekend pass
Passes include concerts, Kids Zone, Skateboard Show, and more. 

Food vendors will accept cash, some will accept debit/credit. 
Pets other than service dogs are not allowed at the festival.

For more information on the 2016 Louisiana Peach Festival visit louisianapeachfestival.org or call 1-800-392-9032.