MATTHEW BURNETTE, Staff Writer

Festival goers came in droves to Hop Springs Beer Park in Murfreesboro in celebration of the versatility of a household staple for decades: the Oreo.

National Oreo Day falls on March 6, so the weekend before, over 160 vendors set up shop at the city’s first Oreo Festival both outside and in Hop Springs’s tap room to showcase their take on the chocolate sandwich cookie.

The event was coordinated by Brianna Hale of Brianna Victory Events. Hale has been hosting events for the last four years and has found particular success with food-centric festivities such as a Cheesecake Festival which spawned the idea for the Oreo Festival.

“My food events have always been my best ones, so then I was like ‘What’s something else? What is some other kind of dessert that people love?’ explained Hale, who has a particular fondness for the Original style Oreo. “I was like ‘I love Oreos. I eat them every day of my life’ and I’m like ‘I’m sure everybody likes Oreos,’ and there’s so many different things you can do with Oreo’s, so that’s kind of just how it happened.”

The Oreo Festival marked the first event of Hale’s held at Hop Springs. She originally utilized another space until the Director of that facility encouraged her to find a venue that could handle events of her size.

“Last year the Director… came to my Peach Cobbler Festival, and he told me that my events are too big, and that I needed to go somewhere else,” she recalled. “That’s what led me to Hop Springs. All of my Murfreesboro events are planned to be at Hop Springs.”

Hale says she has several dates set at the venue including a Butterfly Festival in April. Hop Springs General Manager Miranda Adams, an enthusiast of the Golden Oreo, explained that larger events are great and beneficial to all involved.

“It’s good foot traffic, but it’s also good for the community,” said Adams. “It helps our tavern, but all of the vendors in here also are making a lot of money. It’s getting the word out that ‘Hey, we want to be open to more things than just music.’”

Adams says that they were expecting around 1,500 people for the event. According to Hale, the number of attendees reached at least 6,000 by the end of the day.

The Oreo Festival featured a wide array of activities including a miniature train that drove children, and some parents, around the Hop Springs’ grounds, a pool with two large inflatable vessels and a petting zoo that included a goat with a striking resemblance to an Oreo.

There were also food trucks in attendance such as Willy B’s Smokehouse who ended up selling out of product due to the large crowd.

“This is our first big event. We did really well,” commented Allen Bledsoe, Willy B’s Smokehouse owner.

Signified by a black balloon tied to their booth, many of the vendors at the festival offered versions of their usual products but with an Oreo twist.

Cookies by Brax proprietor Braxton Fitts, an avid fan of the Peanut Butter Oreo, and his mother Tammy, a traditionalist when it comes to the crème filled confection, said that they appreciate the exposure that festivals give their business.

“It’s a good place to be able to get your product out there,” said Fitts.

He explained that they also enjoy shopping around the different vendors at the festivals as well. Tammy commented they often take turns running their booth while the other checks out the others.

Though they typically offer an Oreo cookie cookie, possibly the most meta offering of the day, at their shop on Main Street in McMinnville, the Cookies by Brax team made special Peanut Butter and Birthday Cake Oreo cookie cookies specifically for the festival.

Amy Freeman, a lemon Oreo lover, helped her mother Helen at her Amazin’ Glazin’ Fried Pies booth. The duo offered an Oreo flavored version of their signature fried pies. Freeman said the nature of their product lends itself to events with a larger attendance.

“There’s a lot of foot traffic which we were super focused on when we do markets,” she explained. “For us, our product is perishable, so we make it for the event, so we need foot traffic that can be able to handle it.”

Amazin’ Glazin’ Fried Pies started in 2018 and travels all over Middle Tennessee during festival season.

Other Oreo-themed foods found at the festival included Oreo Cheesecake, Oreo Sourdough, Oreo Cake Pops and the classic deep-fried Oreos.

There were also crafters in attendance who took inspiration from the cookie including April Goldwin who makes 3D printed figures as well as crocheted characters.

“I got into 3D printing because I wanted a Christmas village, and my husband was working overtime, so if I wanted it for Christmas, I needed to learn how to do it,” she explained. “I just fell in love with the art… The same is with yarn. I started because I have three boys and when they were little, they wanted all the things, so I learned how to do all the things.”

Goldwin crocheted several stuffed versions of an Oreo flavored Pop Tart. Based out of Georgia, she said her and her husband enjoy traveling to festivals for the interactions they get to have.

“We love talking to people, and we see all kinds of people,” said Goldwin. “It’s fun. You get to see people. You get to look at different things. You get to talk to people. It’s just fun to do.”