Soybean Festival is the time of the year everyone in the community of Martin, TN looks forward to. People come from out of the woodworks to watch concerts throughout the week, gorge themselves full of greasy fair food, and shop with local vendors. The main strip of Martin is in shut down mode, because there are people flooding the streets for this social event. Any festivity in Martin is always popular with the student body, but Soybean is something that is marked on the calendar months in advance. The days get crossed off just to make sure it isn’t missed or overlooked.
I mentioned concerts before, but let’s take a moment to reflect on the popularity of the artists that are brought in. At this year’s festival, Switchfoot, 38 Special, Foreigner, Gretchen Wilson, Jessie G and Big and Rich with Cowboy Troy made an appearance. Although it rained like crazy on Saturday night, the Gretchen Wilson and Big and Rich concerts still took place downtown at Cadillacs, so everyone got to cross that experience off their bucket list.
I made my rounds through the festival on Thursday night. A few friends and I decided to take our fur children for a walk down the busy strip for some socialization. There’s nothing like getting to see the small children’s eyes light up when they see a dog coming their way. Also, during my trek down the strip I had to make a stop to get some fried oreos and a peach strawberry lemonade. My night was made!
Needless to say, if you haven’t had a chance to come down to Martin and enjoy the festivities of Soybean, make sure to mark it on your calendars for next year. People coming together to enjoy food, festivals and fun is always a great time.