The Ardmore Alabama/Tennessee Chamber of Commerce’s 13th Annual Crape Myrtle Festival will be held from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday in Ardmore.

The festival’s name comes from the city’s slogan, ‘The Crape Myrtle Capital of the South.”

“It’s our little claim to fame,” said Malaac Steele, executive director of the Ardmore Chamber of Commerce.

Among the expected 35-40 different vendors at the event, Berry’s Nursery in Ardmore, Ala. will be selling crape myrtle for sale.

‘“We’ve gotten some unique vendors selling natural birdhouses, Christmas ornaments, chain saw carvings and log furniture,” said Steele.

Other vendors are selling home décor products, handmade jewelry, lemonade, roasted corn, shaved ice, arts, crafts, Watkins products and more.

Vendors, activities and bands at the event usually draw a big crowd.

“Past attendances have been to the tune of 800 or more, but this year I’m unsure what to expect because of the change of location,” said Steele.

The new location will be in John Barnes Tennessee Park, on Ardmore Ridge Road, behind the Piggly Wiggly shopping center.

“Part of the funding for the festival goes to the Beautification Committee of Ardmore, and the rest goes to putting on the event,” said Steele.

The money raised will go to immediate projects like replacing city signs like Welcome to Ardmore.

There will be a children’s area at the festival with bouncing castles, slides and more, provided by Moonwalk and Party Rentals in Athens.

Among festivities for Adults, several bands will play including, The Valley Echoes and The Servants playing Friday from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday there will be all-day entertainment including, Family of Praise, Cash Point Olde Time Music, Compassion, Jeff Whitlow, Cheryl Llewellyn, and 65 South.

Athens author Dawn Wilson will also be at the festival promoting her book, “Women Get in the Army of God. “

The Chamber of Commerce will also have its own booth with cookbooks and T-shirts for sale for $10 each. Sales of the T-shirts and cookbooks will fund various community projects the Chamber sponsors.

“This is the most popular t-shirt design I think we’ve had,” said Steele. He said the chamber has had to reorder the shirts already. A local artist at Addictive Ink, a tattoo shop in Ardmore, designed the T-shirt.

Sunbridge Care and Rehabilitation will offer free blood-pressure screenings. Bingo will be played for several prizes.

“Between all of the gift certificates and all the prizes, there will be about 30 prizes given away,” said Steele.

Prizes for bingo include a full-sized table lamp from Hobbs furniture, a 14-inch barbeque kettle grill supplied by the town of Ardmore, Ala., a telephone supplied by Ardmore Telephone, a $79 chess set, a Health Smart contact grill, by Hamilton Beach and various gift certificates ranging from a check up and shots for dogs and cats to a wash and set from various hair salons.

There is a family reunion type atmosphere to the festival, said Steele.

“I think the thing about this festival is that it’s done by local people,” he said. “You get a real sense of the character of the town. Not only is it among two states and four counties, but you get to see there’s a unique and comfortable lifestyle here.”