Fire Ant Festival expected to draw thousands to Ashburn

ASHBURN — It’s Fire Ant Festival time again in Ashburn, an event held annually during the last weekend of March for the past 23 years.

For more than two decades, the Fire Ant Festival has been the top event in the city and the region, according to event organizers.

Tens of thousands of people from all over the southeastern United States make their way to Ashburn every year for the family-friendly event that has something for all ages.

Friday and Saturday, downtown Ashburn will come alive with a number of contests; a carnival; a steak, hamburger and barbecue cook-off, and more. Other activities include live music, a fire ant calling contest and, of course, arts and crafts.

The midway will have an estimated 100 vendors and plenty of that famous festival food like funnel cakes, deep fried Oreos and all varieties of meat on a stick.

The biggest contest, a fire ant hunt, offers up $1,000 to the person who can find a giant plastic ant hidden somewhere in the community.

“This year’s contest brought a retired gentleman from Arkansas. He spends his leisure time going places to do these kinds of hunts,” an Ashburn Chamber of Commerce’s press release said. “The hunt contest began two weeks ago. If the ant is not found by Friday, bonus clues or explanations of released clues are handed out at Heritage Park.”

The festival has a free fireworks show, a lip sync contest, a free street dance featuring the Mainstream Band and live entertainment all day Saturday.

Along with the usual activities, the festival will include a hula hoop contest and Bruce Mitchell, the alligator man from the TV show “Swamp People.” Mitchell will be in Heritage Park on Saturday for a meet-and-greet and to talk about his career in the Louisiana bayous.

For more information, call (229) 567-9696.