When you’ve won the Miss America pageant, appearing at a state festival might seem kinda small potatoes.
But what if those potatoes are actually peaches? And the festival is taking place in your home state, heck, practically in your own backyard?!
In what seems like the most perfect pairing since Peaches & Herb, Miss America 2016 Betty Cantrell will return here on Saturday to appear at the Georgia Peach Festival & Parade in Fort Valley. The 21-year-old Warner Robins resident and vocal performance student at Mercer University will serve as Grand Marshal of the parade from 10 to 11 a.m., then perform for the festivalgoers afterwards.
[Related: 5 things to know about Miss America Betty Cantrell]
This is the 30th consecutive year that the festival has taken place in Fort Valley, a major producer of the fuzzy fruit that’s also the seat of — what else? — Peach County. Cantrell, who’s essentially from the neighborhood (Warner Robins is some 17 miles away) was the first Miss America from Georgia in 62 years when she claimed the crown in Atlantic City last September 13.
And it's not her first official visit here since winning. In March, she flipped pancakes at an IHOP in Chamblee to help raise money for the Children's Miracle Network Hospitals.
For more information about the Georgia Peach Festival & Parade, go to www.gapeachfestival.com.
Related video: Miss America 2016 Betty Cantrell answers AJC readers' questions
