Leeds 27th Annual Creek Bank Festival Brought Record Crowds
It was a beautiful day in Leeds, Alabama on Saturday as the Leeds 27th Annual Creek Bank Festival brought record crowds to Leeds Memorial Park. This event was hosted by the Leeds Area Chamber of Commerce and its sponsors. Almost 200 vendors with their tents, tables and merchandise filled the park with an unbelievable choice in shopping opportunities and merchandise brought in from all over the southeast not to mention the delicious food trucks that blessed everyone with lots of great food.
Children could be seen playing in the bouncy house, getting a free balloon, visiting the face painting booth, pony ride, playing games and riding the train throughout the park. The hula hoop contests and mascot challenge proved to bring plenty of fun to the table. Miss Leeds Area Chandler Mordecai jumped in on the hula hoop contest and inspired the kids as they all competed for prizes. All of the Chick-Fil-A Cows came out for the occasion and our very own Leeds Greenie and Sparky joined in on the mascot competition. Greenie took home the prize and all of the mascots hung out to have their pictures made with the kids.
2022 American Idol Top 11 Contestant, Tristen Gressett, did not disappoint with his live performance on the Creek Bank stage. This 17-year-old local recording artist and singer/songwriter from Pell City loves Rock, Soul, Blues as well as everything in between and brought great energy along with his exceptional stage presence. A huge crowd enjoyed the show. He and his mom stayed after his gig to sign autographs and provide Tristen Gressett merchandise for his audience.
Evan Riley also wowed the audience. This 9-year-old young lady is quickly becoming famous truly outdid herself with her performance. She is definitely on her way for a future American Idol position!
Other performers included The WingNuts with their vintage rock ‘n roll, Erica Ryleigh with her country sound with a hint of “indy” twang as well as Eric Watters who is a local singer/songwriter and Roy Mac, today’s living legend of Wyatt Earp.
The Creek Bark Dog Pageant was another popular event which brought out dogs of all shapes and sizes. Best Small Dog was awarded to Beulah which was a black Shih Tzu. Best Big Dog went to Samson, the Great Dane. Clifford, the white Terrier-Chihuahua mix, received Best Costume. Best Trick and Best Overall Awards went to Weezer, the Shepherd mix.
The Young Professionals Leeds Area brought back the Rubber Ducky Race. This race was a favorite in years past and made a big splash into the Little Cahaba River. Six middle aged kiddos volunteered to be the Rubber Ducky Wranglers including Brook McDonald, James McDonald, Dylan Doig, Madilynn Johnson, Amelia Davis and Brayden Davis. This group got to wear the official Rubber Ducky Wrangler hats that were in high demand at the festival. These Wranglers were more than happy to wade into the cool water to steer the ducks away from the rocks and toward the finish line. Plans are already in motion for next year’s race. YPLA Director Annette McGuire shared, “Thank you to everyone who participated in this event and the generous sponsors, Barber Motorsports Park and adr Business & Marketing Strategies, who donated prizes for the winners. It was exciting to see Dylan Doig win first place. His enthusiasm to work the table, sell duckies out in the park, hold the net to capture the ducks and excitement to wear a Rubber Ducky Wrangler hat, not to mention that he loves Barber Motorsports, made me happy!” 2nd Place winner was Doris Nabors and 3rd place was Susan Laster.
Also, in conjunction with Creek Bank Festival, the 6th Annual Cruising the Creek Bank Charity Car Show sponsored by C & C Motor Company brought in record numbers of cars, trucks and bikes to raise money for Leeds Outreach and Backpack Buddies. “What an awesome turn out today & a beautiful day for a car show!! This was our Biggest Show ever with almost 400 cars & raised a little over $6k for Backpack Buddies & Leeds Outreach!! We would like to thank everyone for coming out & supporting both charities. We couldn’t do it without you all, also, would like to thank our sponsors, friends, & our awesome DJ, Ronnie Foster, for being a big part of the car show. We really couldn’t do it with you all!! We hope everyone had a great time & can’t wait till next year!!!” shared Christy McCombs of C & C Motor Company.
Celebrating its 27th year, the Creek Bank Festival has become a phenomenal festival tradition and this year’s festival was definitely a crowd-pleaser. The Chamber would like to thank their corporate and events sponsors, staff and volunteers, as well as everyone who came out to participate in every capacity. 2022 Corporate Sponsors include: Presenting Sponsor is the City of Leeds, Corporate Partner: Lehigh Cement Company, Gold Sponsors: Brunson, Barnett & Sherrer, P.C. and Hubbell Power Systems, Inc., Silver Sponsors: Leeds Water Works, Millennial Bank and UAB Leeds, Bronze Sponsors: adr Business & Marketing Strategies, AMAC Design Builders, LLC, America’s First Credit Union, BancorpSouth Bank, Guardian Systems, Inc., IKG USA, Inc., Kinetic by Windstream, M & M Tax Accounting, Power Composites, LLC and The Outlet Shops of Grand River. Event sponsors included Kinetic by Windstream, Heights Title, Mills Pharmacies, The Outlet Shops of Grand River, Chick-Fil-A Leeds and EnviroSpray.
Be sure to mark your calendar for next year’s festival which is set for Saturday, May 20, 2023. For more information about Leeds Creek Bank Festival and Cruising the Creek Bank Car Show, please visit www.CreekBankFestival.com or contact Sandra McGuire at 205-699-5001 or Sandra@LeedsAreaChamber.com.
To view the full Creek Bank Festival photo gallery and select video clips from Saturday, please visit our Facebook page.