Organizers pleased with 2023 Vidalia Onion Festival turnout

VIDALIA, Ga. (WTOC) - Thousands of visitors rolled into Vidalia this past weekend for the annual Vidalia Onion Festival.

Weeks and months of preparation for the annual Vidalia Onion Festival now turn to days of breaking it all down. Organizers say they’re pleased with things especially on what’s traditionally an “off” year.

The week long festival kicked into high gear for the weekend as they celebrated their world famous onion crop. Festival planners estimate as many as 15,000 or more came for at least one event or more.

“Arts & Crafts was packed all weekend at that venue. Concerts were packed out every night and our downtown was packed the whole weekend,” Festival Chairman Jake Cleghorn said.

The concerts and many other events happened downtown and organizers say that introduced the city to lots of first-time visitors.

“We love that we were able to spotlight the revitalization of our downtown to people who would have otherwise not walked through the streets of our downtown center.”

He says they traditionally see larger crowds on the years they feature an airshow, but crowds this weekend were at that level. The airshow is back next year and will feature the return to Vidalia of the world famous Blue Angels.

He says they’ll take a couple of weeks to catch their breath, then start planning for next year.