Armadillo Day: Valley Vic Sees His Shadow- 6 More Weeks of Winter
The inaugural Armadillo Day last year was a big hit in The Valley. You can read about it HERE. This year’s celebration was even bigger. Since Feb. 2nd was on a Sunday this year, the festivities were moved to yesterday, Saturday, Feb. 1st. We are in the Bible Belt, so having the festivities on a Sunday would definitely limit the crowd.
The Valley Armadillo Club had been planning the festivities for months, and they did a great job. I was able to catch up with Graye Hardshelle, the club’s president. He said, “We’ve been working hard to get Buck Bend Resort ready for weeks now, and it turned out great. Everything got kicked off at 6:30 am with everyone watching Valley Vic. Luckily, he came out of his burrow; you never know if we’ll be able to get him to come out. We had a huge crowd gathered watching his every move. Valley Vic did see his shadow, so that means we’ll have 6 more weeks of winter. So, it looks like we’ll have to wait until March to start wearing shorts again.”
Valley Vic will never be picked up like the groundhog Punxsutawney Phil, because no one wants to get leprosy. So, the announcement of whether he sees his shadow or not will never be as exciting as Punxsutawney Phil on Groundhog Day. But, the organizers of Armadillo Day do all they can to make it a fun and exciting atmosphere like a carnival or fair. Hardshelle said, “We had vendors cooking breakfast as early as 6:00 am, so it was smelling good at Buck Bend. We even had the Valley City High School Band doing a drum roll for Valley Vic. We had all kinds of fun stuff for kids to do; it’s similar to the state fair or a county fair. We had a big crowd this year since it was held on a Saturday, and I hope the crowds continue to grow each year.”
Food is a big draw for Armadillo Day. You can buy just about any type of fried food imaginable. There were a ton of food vendors peddling some great food. There were a few food contests that drew a lot of attention. At noon, there was a catfish cookoff, and that was a big hit. There was also a dessert contest at 2:00, and the winner cooked a bread pudding. There was a gumbo cookoff at 5:00 pm, and that drew a large crowd as well.
The mullet contest was a big hit. There were 9 entrants, and there were some really nice mullets. It all came down to Joe Durtt and Kenny Powers- straight vs. curly. The judges went with the straight mullet- Joe Durtt. The crowd went wild when Durtt was announced as the winner, and some of Powers’ friends were not happy with the judges.
Things really started to heat up in the evening as the Valley Vagabonds took the stage at 6:00. They put on a great show as always. Hardshelle said, “They’re one of the best Lynyrd Skynyrd cover bands around, and they always put on a great show. Valleyans came out in droves to see them.”
The Valley Armadillo Club plans to make this event bigger and bigger each year. They hope that it will one day be a regional event that will draw people from across The Valley, Mississippi, and the South. Hardshelle said, “We’re gonna make it bigger and bigger each year. Go big or go home right! So, y’all tell your friends and family about it, and we’ll see everyone next year.”
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