Vardaman, Mississippi: Sweet Potato Capital of the World

Although the residents of several Japanese prefectures may disagree, the town of Vardaman, Mississippi, claims to be the Sweet Potato Capital of the World. The town has an annual Vardaman Sweet Potato Festival to prove it. Check out their website and you will find that the next festival is scheduled for November of this year.

Around the time of the First World War, farmers from a relatively small area in western Tennessee migrated to north Mississippi bringing seed potatoes with them. They began cultivating and marketing sweet potatoes and sending them to the markets of the north and east by railroad and truck. The town became famous for the crop.

The annual festival is one of the largest agricultural festivals in the state. It begins with an Arts and Crafts Day on a Saturday, and the streets of the downtown fill with crowds of 10,000 or more visitors. Among the attractions are a sweet potato tasting booth, information about potatoes, and sweet potato mementoes for sale. There are also photographs, art, and writing contests—all related to sweet potatoes. The local menus include chopped sweet potato, mashed sweet potato, and sweet potato tempura.

Perhaps the most intriguing event is the pie eating contest. It is a highly competitive and very messy competition. Watching and cheering is better than participating. To make your own pie—if you can get the Vardaman type—follow the directions in the recipe included below.

As a footnote, the small town of Vardaman is named after the current writer’s great-grandfather, James Kimble Vardaman, governor of Mississippi at the turn of the twentieth century.

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