Southern Olympics: RC Cola can balance

As the real Olympics are going on in Rio right now, I want to take a look at some of the Olympics you can find in Middle Tennessee:





At the 2008 RC Cola and Moon Pie festival in Bell Buckle, TN, just as they have done in years past, some "Olympic" games were played. This contest was the RC Cola Dash. The "Dash" part is a little misleading as this was not a speed contest, but more focused on skill and accuracy.





The Rules: Take an open but full RC Cola can and balance it on your head. If you can make it all the way to the finish line (about 20 feet away) without dropping it (or steadying it with your hand - which would be cheating) you go on to round two. In round two, you stack two RC cans on your head. 4 contestants made it past round two onto round 3 stacking 3 RC cans on their head!

Now for the second round with two cans stacked!





Here are the finalists who could stack three open RC cans!

This boy came in third place:



This girl has the look of intensity and has won the contest in previous years, but this year she came in second.



Not only was this girl a finalist, but was also the winner as she made it one full step with three cans stacked, which no other finalist could do

Drink Royal Crown Cola sign - Maryville, TN

Taken from the hill of the Blount County Courthouse, with the row of shops facing Main Street in the background.

"Best by Taste-Test"

In addition to the ad being painted on this brick building, two metal RC bottles were affixed to the wall. The one on the left is all rusty and the one on the right fell off leaving a faded outline of where it used to be.

RC Cola Wedding with Moon Pies

At the 2009 Tennessee State Fair were several intricate cake designs, and while this wasn't one of them, it is still nonetheless fascinating.

RC Cola and Moon Pies have been described as two great things that go great together. If you're still unsure, another slogan is "It's a Southern thing." And the RC Cola bottles are getting married while the groom is wearing a UT hat, which would be another southern thing.

By the way, Bell Buckle's RC Cola and Moon Pie festival is coming up next weekend.

Drink Chero Cola - Shelbyville, TN

Drink Chero Cola
There's None so good
In bottles 5 cents

Chero Cola became Royal Crown Cola in 1934, so this sign is at least 73 years old! This is located along Main Street in Shelbyville, TN in the town Square. it's painted on the building which used to be home to Pope's Cafe.

Just two or three years ago, I think there used to be a building here which would have prevented me from taking this picture. Now only the frame of the building remains, including the 2 beams in the picture. Before then, to view this ad, you would have to do so from an angle.

"There's none so good" could be an insult if you think about it.

The Courtship of RC Cola and Moon Pie

The RC Cola and Moon Pie Festival in Bell Buckle is Today! If you were on the fence about whether or not to go, maybe this will convince you.

For me, the highlight of the festival is a play starring the locals. It was low budget put on by volunteers, but I liked it as they put in a lot of effort and it had a lot of small town charm that I like. The story was essentially the pairing of Mr. RC Cola and Miss Moon Pie loosely set to Shakespeare's A Midsummer Nights Dream. For no apparent reason, most characters acted their parts while standing in a wading pool.

RC Cola Dash

The RC Cola and Moon Pie festival is this Saturday, and here's a glimpse of what you can expect...

At the 2008 RC Cola and Moon Pie festival in Bell Buckle, TN, just as they have done in years past, some "Olympic" games were played. This contest was the RC Cola Dash. The "Dash" part is a little misleading as this was not a speed contest, but more focused on skill and accuracy.

The Rules: Take an open but full RC Cola can and balance it on your head. If you can make it all the way to the finish line (about 20 feet away) without dropping it (or steadying it with your hand - which would be cheating) you go on to round two. In round two, you stack two RC cans on your head. 4 contestants made it past round two onto round 3 stacking 3 RC cans on their head! The girl in the red shirt was sadly not one of them.

Bell Buckle, TN Mural

Great Mural - Tough to photograph location as this is sort of facing an alley.

Bell Buckle is now home to the famous RC Cola and Moon Pie festival which takes place on a Saturday in June. I plan on being there, but it's also good to visit the small town and enjoy the charm on a day when a large number of people don't show up.

I split the mural in half and show those two photos below.



On the far left is a black TN Walking horse. In the tree, it mentions WEBB School, the city's most famous school. Next is the city's red L&N Train caboose.

Having to work two windows into the mural, the red barn is painted with two windows. In the mian window is a cow with a bell hanging out the window. The cow is licking the boys ice cream cone. In the other window is a blue ribbon winning TN walking horse.



On the left of this picture is a christmas tree. Next is a motorcyclist driving up to the row of stores (mostly antique stores) that make up the center of town. The back of these stores are behind me. In the center of the parking area is the red white and blue quilt pattern. The tallest building with the flag in front of it is the town hall.

The lookout Moon Pie has been made in Chattanooga Since 1917. If there's any other brand, I haven't seen it. I hadn't bought a moon pie in many years, and didn't even know there were new flavors of Orange, Lemon and Strawberry. The guy in the store said those flavors had been around for over a decade as I paid 75 cents for a double decker orange moon pie, not realizing I could get one for half that price at most other places in the south. Later, I bought a box of 12 at walmart for $3.

Finally is a vintage bottle of Royal Crown Cola. I'd never seen that old design before, until I was in the store with the 75 cent moon pies, as they had these vintage bottles of RC for over $100. I fully expect to pay $2 for a current bottle of RC at the festival, at which point, I won't desire another RC for another year.