Peanuts and Politics Collide at the Florida Festival

(WILLISTON, Fla.) — The 33rd annual Central Florida Peanut Festival, traditionally a family-friendly celebration of the region’s peanut industry, took on a different tone this year, as political campaigns added an unexpected undercurrent of tension. 

The festival, hosted by the Williston Chamber of Commerce, was held at Heritage Park in downtown Williston. Tents and vendors stretched the length of the park and several blocks of the adjacent Main Street. The entrance sported the sign: “We’ve Gone Nuts in Williston.” This year, the festival’s core attractions–an array of peanut products, face painting, food truck, the contest for Peanut King and Queen, and a children’s train towed by a farm tractor– were joined by political ads and campaign tents.

Held 16 days before early voting began for residents of Levy County, festival goers who came to enjoy the celebration also got flyers and promotional material for the upcoming November elections. Though there were tables and signs for candidates of all stripes, Levy County is largely Republican, with 72.4% voting for Donald Trump over Joe Biden in 2020. Most of Levy County’s neighbors, Dixie, Gilchrist and Marion County, voted overwhelmingly in favor of former President Trump. But Alachua County, home to the University of Florida, voted in favor of Joe Biden 63.9% to 35.7%. 

The north end of the festival featured  several bright blue tents adorned with Harris-Walz signs, and a large placard with “We the People” in gothic font. Campaign workers wearing red and blue handed out bottled water and spun a fortune wheel giving campaign donors a chance to win a prize. Others stood outside their tents, waving eagerly to passersby in hopes to draw them into a conversation. 

The festival’s opposite end featured campaign tents with volunteers who wore American flag caps and Trump-Vance shirts. Those tents had signs with messages like “Abortion is Murder.” Campaign workers were visibly less enthusiastic than the Harris-Walz volunteers. They sat in the humid heat, fanning themselves with the promotional flyers they were supposed to be handing out. They did not offer water or other freebies to festival attendees walking by, many of whom were beelining for the tent next door. 

Beside the Trump-Vance campaign tents were three tents selling apparel with colorful quotes about guns and the Second Amendment. One shirt sported the message: “Money Can’t Buy Happiness, but It Can Buy Guns.” 

A few people who came to the festival for some fall fun found the campaigning intrusive. 

“We come here every year for face painting and boiled peanuts. It’s a bit strange seeing so many political booths,” said one local resident who held a toddler in her arms and declined to be named.  

For others, the political activity was a welcomed sight. One middle-aged festival goer pronounced, “It’s a smart move,” as he exited the Trump-Vance campaign tent.  

As an imminent rainstorm slowly cleared the festival of attendees and vendors began packing up, two children with their faces painted and their hands full of peanut butter snacks ran laughing through the drizzle, unfazed by the political tension surrounding them.