The third Saturday of June is next week and everyone in Bell Buckle knows what that means -- it's RC Cola and Moon Pie time!

The 12th annual RC Cola / Moon Pie Festival, celebrating one of the South's most honored traditions, is set for June 17.

The festival kicks off bright and early at 7 a.m. with the 11th annual Bell Buckle Chamber of Commerce 10 Mile Run. According to chamber chairman Billy Phillips, the race has had to limit entries to 1,000 participants. Over 700 are already entered.

Runners are advised that the 10-mile course is hilly and the event takes place in the middle of June. If you are not prepared, do not run this race.

At 9 a.m. the craft fair and food court opens, featuring 60 art and craft exhibits and 20 food booths serving up Southern fare such as Tennessee smoked barbecue, hand squeezed lemonade and, of course, deep fried Moon Pies.

Awards will be given to winners of the 10-mile run at 10 a.m. and at 10:30, the Southern Country Cloggers will perform.

The 12th annual RC Moon Pie Parade kicks off at 11, featuring the newly-crowned RC Moon Pie King and Queen. Honored this year are Kyle Cantrell, former general manager of the Grand Ole Opry; and Margaret Britton Vaughn, Poet Laureate of Tennessee and a Bell Buckle resident.

At 11:30 a.m. Valerie Smith & Liberty Pike will perform, followed by a performance of the Smoky Run Cloggers at noon. One of the funniest and most popular events, the Peoples Bank synchronized wading, will follow at 12:30 p.m. This event, which began as a parody of the 1996 Olympic games in Atlanta, is actually a series of skits performed in a wading pool.

Live country and bluegrass musicians, along with cloggers, will entertain the crowd throughout the afternoon until the H. B. Cowan RC Moon Pie Madness Games kick off at 1:45.

Games include the Moon Pie toss, RC dash, Moon Pie hoops, watermelon seed spitting contest, water balloon toss, hog calling contest and recognition for the family who traveled the farthest and the oldest and youngest persons present.

The World's Largest Moon Pie will be served at 3:30 p.m. The festival concludes with Midnight Special in concert on stage at 4.

Phillips says a crowd of 10,000 is expected to pack the small town for the event, which grows bigger every year. For more information about the festival, call Phillips at 389-9663.