I stand in the middle of Bell Buckle, Tennessee, a town so small you could miss it during a sneeze. Yet here, surrounded by late-19th century storefronts, I’m witnessing something remarkable. This half-square-mile settlement of exactly 424 residents is preparing to host thousands of visitors next week for its 30th annual RC Cola-MoonPie Festival. In a place where you can walk the entire downtown in under 10 minutes, they’re about to serve the World’s Largest MoonPie – a 50-pound chocolate-covered marshmallow sandwich that has become the quirky calling card of Southern nostalgia.
Bell Buckle sits just 60 miles southeast of Nashville, or about an hour’s drive down I-24. The detour feels like crossing a time portal – one minute you’re on the interstate, the next you’re in a preserved slice of 1890s Tennessee, complete with wooden porches and rocking chairs.
A Town of 424 Residents Serving America’s Largest MoonPie
Bell Buckle’s entire population would fit inside two Greyhound buses with seats to spare. Yet somehow, this tiny community has turned its annual celebration of two iconic Southern convenience store staples – RC Cola and MoonPies – into a tourist phenomenon.
“The festival started as a quirky idea 30 years ago and now draws crowds that temporarily multiply our population by more than twenty times. We’re serving a MoonPie bigger than some of our mailboxes,” explains the shopkeeper at Bluebird Antiques, laughing.
When I first visited, I thought I’d stay an hour. Three days later, I was still here. There’s something about this place that feels like the South I remember from childhood – before everything got turned into an Instagram backdrop.
The June 21st festival features RC Cola chugging contests, a 10-mile run (followed by MoonPies, naturally), and MoonPie tossing competitions. But the real star is the ceremonial cutting of the World’s Largest MoonPie, served to the crowd at noon.
While Bell Buckle isn’t the only small town with outsized festivals (like this Texas town of 1,745 residents hosting 5,000 visitors), its MoonPie celebration stands apart for its perfect blend of food nostalgia and Southern eccentricity.
Why Bell Buckle Outshines Its Commercialized Neighbors
Just 30 miles north, Franklin, Tennessee draws tourists by the busload with its carefully curated historic district. But with 80,000 residents, Franklin has lost the intimacy that makes Bell Buckle special.
Here, you’ll find no chain stores, no souvenir shops selling mass-produced trinkets. Instead, the Bell Buckle Café serves Southern comfort food so authentic it was featured on Tennessee Crossroads. The café’s fried biscuits with apple butter alone justify the trip.
Bell Buckle joins other authentic American small towns like this Maryland destination of 4,234 residents that preserve genuine character while larger neighbors commercialize.
America’s most meaningful traditions often survive in its smallest communities, from this Pennsylvania town of 4,442 residents to Bell Buckle’s celebration of Southern snack culture.
How to Experience the 30th Anniversary Festival
The RC Cola-MoonPie Festival happens Saturday, June 21st from 9am-5pm. Arrive early – by 8:00am – to secure parking at the Webb School lot, the largest in town. Spaces fill quickly, turning this tiny town into a temporary parking nightmare.
Skip the midday heat by touring the National Register Historic District first thing in the morning. Bell Buckle’s preservation efforts mirror those of other tiny American gems, like this Arkansas town of 101 residents maintaining its historical significance despite its size.
The MoonPie cutting ceremony happens at noon sharp in the town square. Afterward, escape the crowds by ducking into Bluebird Antiques for homemade ice cream, or sample hand-crafted fudge in flavors that include – yes – MoonPie.
For the full experience, arrive Friday evening for the RC-MoonPie 10-mile run that kicks off at 7pm – a quirky tradition where runners are “fueled” by MoonPies at each mile marker. Only in the South would combining long-distance running with marshmallow sandwiches make perfect sense.
Beyond the Festival: Bell Buckle’s Hidden Charms
While the festival draws crowds, Bell Buckle’s year-round appeal comes from its ghost stories and origins. The town’s name reportedly comes from a bell and buckle found hanging from a tree by early settlers – a story that feels perfectly at home in a town where history is preserved rather than renovated into oblivion.
As I prepare to leave, I realize Bell Buckle represents something increasingly rare – a place where smallness is not a limitation but a superpower. In a country where bigger often masquerades as better, this Tennessee hamlet proves that sometimes, the tiniest towns leave the biggest impressions – especially when they’re serving the World’s Largest MoonPie.