Patience is a virtue. We’re all patiently awaiting the time we can gather together again for life’s little pleasures, including festivals. While we pine for those future days, we can relive the joy of festivals with this special episode of Simply Southern!

Starts at 2:23 – Patrons have a toe-tapping good time in Athens, Alabama, for the Tennessee Valley Old Time Fiddlers Convention. There’s plenty of shade-tree picking during the three-day event. It culminates with the crowning of Alabama’s official Fiddle Off Champion.

Starts at 9:00 – Dothan’s Highland Games are kind of like the Olympic Games… well, if the Olympic Games included country flavor, old-world flair and the wail of bagpipes. But the competition is no different – talented athletes hoping to prove themselves out on the field in contests of strength, talent and skill.

Starts at 15:23 – The Coosa and Tallapoosa rivers converge in Elmore County to create the Alabama River. The beautiful scenery and abundant water made the area attractive to folks throughout the ages, including Native Americans, French settlers and American troops. All that history is celebrated during Frontier Days at Fort Toulouse – Fort Jackson.

Starts at 22:29 – Moundville is a small town, tucked among gobs of wide-open space in rural Alabama. It’s kind of hard to believe that at one time, this was home to the largest city north of Mexico. But the 29 flat-top earthen mounds in the area prove it was once an extremely important place for Native Americans. Curious visitors can learn more about the area’s history during the annual Native American Festival.