Alabama Sweet Tea Festival
Taste buds tingle and thirsts get quenched as festival-goers amble through the Mitchell Automotive Tea-Tasting Tent
to vote for their favorite entries in the People’s Choice Best Home Brew Contest for home cooks, and the
Tea Pro-Master CompeTEAtion for restaurants, food trucks, chefs and others in the food service industry.
2025 Alabama Sweet Tea Festival – Stage Schedule
Enterprise Civic Center & Festival Field
Saturday, August 16, 2025
10:00 a.m. – Sweet Tea Kickoff & Welcome
Start your day with a warm Southern welcome as our emcee introduces special guests, local personalities, and the amazing tea company reps brewing up the fun!
10:30 a.m. – Cutts Hot Dog Eating Contest
Watch contestants go all in for the Cutts Champion Crown.
11:00 a.m. – Live Music: Curtis Williams
Kick back with a glass of tea and enjoy 50 minutes of the Southern Sounds of Curtis Williams and his band.
12:30 p.m. – Live Music: Crews Wright
Fresh from American Idol and ready to bring the country charm, Crews Wright takes the stage with an afternoon set you won’t want to miss.
1:30 p.m. – Y'all Sweet Tea-Chuggin’ Contest
Are you a sipper or a gulper? Contestants take the stage to see who can chug their way to sweet victory! Sponsored by Y’all Sweet Tea, with cash prizes and champion medals.
2:30 p.m. – The Sweet Tea Crownin’ Ceremony
It’s the moment of truth! Cheer on our freshly minted Home Brew and Pro-Master champions, raise a glass to the Tea-Chuggin’ victor, and celebrate the crowning of this year’s ultimate Sweet Tea Champions!
- Announcement of contest winners in:
- Tea-Chuggin’ Contest Winners
- The Judges’ Best Home Brew
- The Home Brew People’s Choice Contest
- The Pro-Master People’s Choice Competition
Tea ParTEA times:
- The Fancy Fork Presents:
- 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. - Cream Tea Delight ($15)
A classic event with fresh scones, other tea treats and the perfect cup of tea!
- 1 p.m. – Elevated Etiquette Tea ($15)
A refined tea experience for guests of all ages, featuring a fun and interactive etiquette lesson. A perfect blend of learning and leisure for families, friends and anyone wanting to sip in style!
- All-day Fancy Fork Tea Room ($15) – The Tea Room will be open all day for you to drop in, sip at your leisure, sample delightful tea treats and indulge in the Fancy Fork’s famous Southern Earl grey Sweet Tea!
If you stir up a mean pitcher of tea that your family loves, or if your grandma has the best tea in town, you will want to enter the BEST HOME BREW competition!
- You could win up to $400 if you take first-place prize in both the professionally judged category and the People’s Choice category.
- You can enter one or both these categories.
- The first-place winner in each category takes home $200; second place $100 and third place $50.
- To enter the category judged by a panel of tea company representatives and local foodies, you must prepare one gallon of your tasty tea.
- If you plan to enter the People’s Choice category, you must prepare eight gallons.
- If you plan to enter both categories, you must prepare nine gallons, one for the professional judging and eight for the People’s Choice contest at the Tasting Tent.
Not only can you enter two categories, you can have two entries in one or both categories!
- The two entries must have some difference in ingredients and/or preparation.
- One entry can be traditional tea and one can be flavored tea.
If you sell your delicious in-demand tea from your food truck or business, please enter the Tea Pro-Master CompeTEAtion.
- The Pro-Master entries at this time are only judged in the People’s Choice Tent.
- To enter, prepare eight gallons of your creation.
- You may enter either a traditional recipe or a flavored tea, or both!
- Only a first-place entry is selected by the people.
- A plaque will be awarded for your business to show off your tasty achievement!
HOME BREW COMPETEATION
Please see the rules on the downloadable registration forms, which you can access by clicking the links below.
Pre-register by emailing your completed form to specialevents@visitenterprise.com, by calling
Kay Kirkland at 334-348-2310 or by filling out your registration form the morning of the event when you deliver your tea for the competitions.
Please bring your entries to the Festival Field near the Tasting Tent between 8:30 and 9:30 a.m. Saturday morning, Aug. 16.
Remember to follow the rules regarding labeling and cool storage.
Judges admitted it was a tough job, but they ultimately chose the traditional tea by Lucia Blalock of Bonifay as the $200 first-place winner. They said the choice was difficult between the winning tea and the defending 2023 champion, Erica Massey Parker, who earned the $100 second-place prize this year. Mandy Powell's tea won the $50 third-place spot.
Judges’ Best Home Brew:
1st Place – Lucia Blalock, Entry #6
2nd Place – Erica Parker, Entry #3
3rd Place – Brittany Merritt, Entry #7
People’s Choice Home Brew:
1st Place – Charlie Glass, Entry #5
2nd Place – Erica Parker, Entry #3
3rd Place – Mandy Powell, Entry #1
An unexpected honorable mention in the Judges’ Best Contest was the entry named; Uncle Charlie's Juice by Charlie Glass of
New Orleans, who came all the way from Louisiana to enter the contest! Glass’ effort paid off for the $200 prize in the People's
Choice Home Brew competition, where his pineapple-sweetened flavored tea won first place by getting the most votes at the Tea-
Tasting Tent. Erica Parker doubled her winnings by taking home second place, and Brittany Merritt won third place.
Huey's Walking Tacos walked away with the prize as the top Tea Pro-Master People's Choice winner and earned braggin’ rights for the next year.
This was the first Pro-Master competition and the Festival Committee appreciates those who entered.
SWEET TEA CHUGGING CONTEST
Are you a slow sipper or a fast chugger?
Either way, you could claim the crown in the Y’all Sweet Tea Chugging Contest at the Alabama Sweet Tea Festival!
Sip on by the Visit Enterprise Tent on August 16 to sign up for a shot at the championship drink-offs, kicking off at noon on the Festival Stage.
It’s free to enter, and the winners will take home some sweet cash prizes!
2024 WINNERS
(Various age groups)
Colt Voak of Headland
Nick Christianson of Minnesota
Dana Ray Roberts of Enterprise
Levi Pearce of Enterprise
Pour yourself a glass of courage, belly up to the table and chug your way to victory!
Show ‘em how it’s done!
What would a Tea Festival be without Tea ParTEAs?
The Alabama Sweet Tea Festival may seem like one BIG parTEA But with Mixing and Mingling as two main ingredients in this spectacular shindig, more excuses for socializing and themed activities simply must be on the menu!
Last year, several vendors served up ParTEAs with unique twists that charmed festival goers. A gathering featuring beautifully decorated tables with dainty teacups as well as the whimsical table decorated with flamboyant floral arrangements were invited for guests. Opportunities to explore tea flavors, decorate cookies and learn about social etiquette made for great engaging experiences.
You are invited to be a tea ParTEA host this year!
It’s’ a great way for organizations, non-profits and businesses to do fund-raisers and introduce their civic missions or retail products to new people. Or if you are a civic club or group recruiting members, it’s a great way to have a “mixer” to meet and greet new prospects.
The flexible activity can be tailored to your goals and can range from the classic, traditional concept of tea parties to lively informal settings. Design your own concept. Serving cold or hot tea is practically the only requirement!
TEA PARTEAS
It’s never too early to start planning your ParTea for your civic club, boutique, Sunday School class or other group.
Call Kay Kirkland at 348-2310 or Tammy Doerer at 348-1554 for information and ideas about how you can take advantage of this opportunity at the 2025 Alabama Sweet Tea Festival!
(Google Tea Party Ideas and you’ll find a plethora of party suggestions to excite your imagination!)
Shopping OpportuniTEAs
More than 80 vendors were on hand at the Alabama Sweet Tea Festival to provide a scrumptious combination of food, arts, handmade crafts, novelties, tea products, and activities.
The vendors were a delicious mix with a plethora of arts like pottery, painting and books. Crafts included wood, leather and outdoor metal products, tumblers, home décor, crocheted items, personalized items, jewelry, t-shirts and boutique fashions.
Many vendors featured tea-themed products like fun home decor, tumblers with tea phrases and clothing items. And of course we featured the official Alabama Sweet Tea Festival t-shirt!
Wonderful crafters and other vendors created a beautiful and lively landscape, and the Alabama Sweet Tea Festival Committee thanks all of those who have committed to be here this year!
Of course, sweet tea is plentiful at the Alabama Sweet Tea Festival, thanks to great vendors and wonderful sponsors like Milo’s Tea Company, Y’all Sweet Tea and Royal Cup Coffee and Tea.
You can find it in many forms, even frozen! Many vendors create – or invent – tea delights just for this occasion, so next year, you won’t want to miss exploring the tasty wonders inspired by this festival.
But never fear, for those who don’t particularly pine for the taste of sweet tea, food vendors have plenty of other flavorful options such as lemonade, sodas and water.
To go with your drink of choice, food vendors have a plethora of festival fare. This year, vendors had hot dogs, hamburgers, BBQ, freeze-dried candy, baked goods, snow cones, ice cream and lots of other goodies.
Sweet Southern Dining OpportuniTEAs
Vendors may also create a total dining experience for festival-goers by offering a decorated seating area where you can enjoy your food at their booth.
Otherwise, the Dining Tent will be a shaded area near the stage where you can rest, eat, listen and watch the music and contests.
Festival-goers are also encouraged to bring lawn chairs or blankets to sit in the grassy area between the stage and dining tent
for a personal spot to rest and watch the action.
Beat the heat and step under the Milo’s MisTEA Tents across the Festival Field. Cool mist, shady spots, and sweet sips make them the perfect place to chill between festival fun!
Milo's MisTEA Tents
Get All In on the action at the All In Credit Union ActiviTEA Tent! With tailgate-style games and friendly competition, it’s your festival field-day headquarters. Bring your game face and your tea face, because it’s time to play! It’s where fun and friends come to parTEA!
Take a bite out of one of Alabama’s Top 100 Dishes at the Cutts Restaurant Chili Dog Eating Contest! Come celebrate this local favorite with a friendly competition full of flavor. It’s a can't-miss moment for food lovers!
