Vendors' items include frozen desserts, dog treats and engraving

Jul. 2—After not being held in 2020 because of the pandemic, the Spirit of America Festival not only is back for its 54th year, it has its most robust lineup of vendors in several years.

Organizers expect more than 60 food and crafts vendors this weekend, and most are north Alabama-based businesses. Following is a sampling of what different vendors will offer.

Chilling out

Icy Does It, a new Decatur business, is a food truck selling what Kent Sanders and his wife Ashley call "icies," a dessert like shaved ice but including chocolate sauce, caramel, homemade crème and other toppings.

Sanders said the first spark of their business came before their marriage, when Ashley introduced Sanders to the dessert, which he was unfamiliar with at the time.

"We were dating about five or six years ago at the time and ... visiting her parents (in Tennessee)," Sanders said. "On our way out, she said, 'Let's stop and get an icy.' I'm thinking of something from the 7-Eleven. Long story short, we went, I tried it, and I (thought) there was nothing like it."

Because he anticipates a large number of customers at the festival, Sanders said Icy Does It will offer a limited menu, but people will likely be able to choose between eight to 12 flavors and have the option of adding crème and sour spray to their frozen treats.

Sanders said he has lived in Decatur all his life and frequented Point Mallard Park growing up, making his presence as a vendor this year an easy choice for him.

"I remember Point Mallard Water Park being my babysitter over the summer," he said. "All of my childhood memories are associated over there, so it's just nice to be able to be a part of the cool festivals that went on in my childhood."

Sanders said the truck has operated during 3rd Friday and Food Truck Friday as well as at the Morgan County-Decatur Farmers Market, but he expects to have his greatest turnout of customers yet during this weekend's festival.

Natural pet treats

Recently launched Cullman business Milly's Pet Bakery is one new arrival to the festival this year and will sell homemade dog treats made with naturally occurring ingredients.

Jason Pearce and his wife Dawne began formulating the idea to develop their own line of dog treats after Pearce said they had trouble finding healthy treats made in or close to Alabama.

"We spent a year developing our stuff and then COVID hit, so we got sidelined," Pearce said. "We really started going in March, (and) the response has been pretty overwhelming. Safe and healthy are our main goals."

Milly's treats do not include byproducts or sugars, Pearce said, and the business sources most of its ingredients from regional farms.

"All of our meat comes from the Brick Yard in Cullman, all of our vegetables come from local farmers and our eggs come from an egg farm out at Fairview," he said. "We had to make our own peanut butter. We were also making our own apple blossoms until we found some at Whole Foods that were the same setup as what we were using and the same cost."

Jerky, Milly Treats and Marsh Millies, which Pearce said are like "marshmallows for dogs," will likely make up the bakery's offerings at the festival.

Pearce said he and Dawne say the festival will likely be the largest event and first in the Decatur-Morgan County area where they've operated.

Specialty designs

Randy Stockton is another vendor setting up shop this year, bringing his engraved designs from his home in Milton, Tennessee. Stockton owns Bradley Creek Designs and said he learned of this year's event through working with organizer Shannon Wright at other events.

"We didn't have anything in July, but (Wright) had told us about it and we thought we'd give it a shot," Stockton said.

Stockton said his interest in engraving stemmed from his other passion of beekeeping, where he wanted to add designs to his hives. He found out he needed a computer numerical control machine to get the desired effect. Nonetheless, he found himself curious about what he could do with a cheaper laser and the business began from there.

"My wife comes up with most of the designs and I've got four lasers," Stockton said. "We've been doing it for about two years now."

Stockton plans to allow festivalgoers to request on-site custom engravings in cutting boards, slates, tumblers and kids' water bottles. He also does engravings in leather journals, business card holders and mousepads.

Of all the designs Stockton engraves, he said his most cherished among customers is that of personalized family recipes engraved into cutting boards.

"(My wife) handwrites the recipe out and puts it on a cutting board," he said. "If you give it to siblings, they're going to cry, I promise you. It's like a family heirloom at that point."

CBD industry

Spirit of America also attracted Appalachian Growers, an industrial hemp farm based in Franklin, North Carolina, focused on selling medicinal CBD and hemp products. Steve Yuzzi, owner of Appalachian Growers, said he discovered the festival while looking for July events in the Southeast.

"We did an online search — we book up the whole summer with shows from Atlanta to Raleigh and Charlotte, all around South Carolina," Yuzzi said. "We're in a couple stores in Alabama but we haven't done any events there."

He said he hopes the festival will present an opportunity for him to expand his farm's reach as the CBD and hemp market continues to grow following federal passage of the 2018 Farm Bill Act in December 2018. The act legalized the sale of CBD derived from industrial hemp in many states like Alabama provided it has a THC concentration of less than 0.3%.

"18 months ago, a business partner and I visited a (hemp) farm in Alabama several times," he said. "They've got a big processing facility down there. Now I think they've kind of tapped him to do medical marijuana there."

Yuzzi became involved in the CBD and hemp industry after an entrepreneurial career of running restaurants, bowling alleys and medical spas in North Carolina.

"I was definitely not a farmer," he said. "When (CBD and hemp laws) passed in North Carolina I called a buddy of mine who was doing it out in Oregon and he said, 'Jump in,' so I did."

Yuzzi said he'll be selling CBD oil, salves, lotions, pain roll-ons and lip balms at Spirit of America. He said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has certified his farm as a Good Agricultural Practices farm as well as fully organic.

"We're probably one of the few farms on the East Coast that has (GAP) certification because it's such a pain to receive," Yuzzi said. "It makes a difference."

— tim.nail@decaturdaily.com or (256) 340-2437. Twitter @timmnail