Gates open at 8 a.m. today for the 22nd annual Mississippi Pecan Festival near Richton.

Area schools flocked to the festival for opening day festivities Friday including draft horse farming demonstrations, custom knifemakers, stock dog demonstrations and the always popular mule pull.

But, there’s still plenty to do this weekend including the “Purtiest Rooster Contest” at 2 p.m. today, sponsored by Dr. Lester Spell Jr., commissioner for the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce, and a beauty pageant.

Megan Smith, one of the event’s organizers, said everyone was excited that the rain held off, keeping the crowds dry.

“Friday morning we had a lot of field trip students and teachers,” she said. “They enjoyed the farmstead, which shows how things were done back in a simpler day. I wish we could still live like that sometime.”

The Living History Homestead, which attracts onlookers year-round, features two log cabins that are over 100 years old. The experience includes butter making, homemade biscuits, milking cows and feeding chickens.

“We also have over 30 food vendors, which is one of the biggest crowd we’ve had for that,” Smith added.

Indeed, the food offerings available include everything from fresh baked pecan pies, fudge, kettle corn, homemade ice cream, ribeye steak sandwiches, blooming onions and seafood gumbo.

Andy Beard, a native of Waynesboro, was one of those offering live music Friday.

Beard said he’s traveled to the Mississippi Pecan Festival for the past few years, with guitar and harmonica in hand.

“I love to come down here, see the people and look back at how we used to do things,” he said. “I enjoy the hospitality and the camaraderie of our own Southern heritage. I really do love the Southern way of life. I like to look at all of the things people handmade as well.”

That is yet another element of the annual festival. This year’s offerings include handmade wooden bed frames and a new company, Pioneer Equipment Inc., an Amish Ohio-based farm equipment manufacturer. Smith noted that the Mississippi Pecan Festival will become a licensed dealer of Pioneer equipment.

Arts and crafts lovers will also have plenty to do as the weekend offers a quilt show and other craftsmen. Patrick Bodine of Bodine Pottery LLC in Wiggins has participated in the festival for 15 of its 22 years.

“I really love the people,” he said. “It’s like a family reunion. The Fulmers are almost like family. They’re real nice folks. My wife calls me an ‘edutainer’ because I entertain the kids but also teach them about physics and geology.”

Hours of operation for the Mississippi Pecan Festival are from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $8 per person, children five and under free.