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GROVES — The 55^th annual Groves Pecan festival will be one for the record books, literally.

The four fun filled days start Thursday and run through Sunday at Lions Park, 6279 Jackson Blvd., Groves.

Letha Knaus, executive director of the Groves Chamber of Commerce, gave some insight into the action. In a festival named after a pecan it’s only natural for there to be pecan related events. Yes, there will be the annual Cooking with Pecan contest but organizers are going a bit farther by unveiling a more than17 foot long pecan.

The idea came from chamber members Patsy and Bert Lamson. During the couples travels they noted a city with the world biggest pecan and thought that would be a good idea for Groves.

Groves Councilmember Paul Oliver offered a solution to the quest. The giant pecan will be set on a trailer and unveiled at 9:30 a.m. Saturday during the Pecan Festival. Credit goes to Advance Fiberglass for the work.

Knaus said they are seeking to get into the Guinness Book of World Records with the pecan.

After the festival the pecan will be dedicated and set at city hall.

“We wanted something to dedicate to our city,” Knaus said. “We are a tourist center here but don’t really have tourist attractions. We have surrounding cities with those. We needed something to draw people to us.”

Festival

Visitors to the festival know all too well the difficulty of finding a parking spot as the event. To ease the parking and walking burden officials will have a Golf Cart “Limo Service.”

There will be a total of four golf carts running at all times; two from the city’s activity center and two from Groves Middle School.

Patrons can park at either parking lot and be shuttled to the event, Knaus said.

The Gumbo Cookoff is back for a second year and lured in teams from across the area and even Louisiana. The same goes for Cooking with Pecans.

Knaus said the billboards placed in Louisiana attracted teams to take part in the contests.

The Beer Garden will be back for a second year. Our in front of the garden will be Mandolada Michelada Mix selling set-ups and more.

As always there will be food vendors. This year there will be Alex el Primo selling “guac and chicharrones cups.”

Of course Johnny’s Lemonade and Piggin’ Out pork-a-bobs are returning, she said.

Festival organizers are also bringing in a small mechanical bull for the children to ride.

Before the fun begins Saturday Fit Body Bot Camp will be on hand for some exercise to get everyone warmed up and ready, she said. The exercise session starts at 10 a.m.

Cash Cube

On Saturday lucky festival goers will have a chance to get into the cash cube.

Knaus said there will be an announcement for individuals to head to the spot and line up about 15 minutes before the fun begins.

Once inside, the person will try to collect as much funny money as they can. Whoever collects the money in the time person will win gift cards. The cash cube is provided by Team Tebo 360.