“Let’s go nuts!”

Growing up in Florence, I am familiar with the pecan. My grandmother had a pecan tree in her front yard, and there were pecan groves all around the edges of town.

The Young Pecan Co. sold everything you can make with the nut: Pecan pie, chocolate-covered pecans (with a sugar-free option for diabetics), pralines, toasted pecans, salted pecans … you get the picture.

Some years ago, the fine folks in Florence decided to celebrate the pecan with its own festival.

This year’s South Carolina Pecan Festival will be held Nov. 3. The festivities kick off at 8 a.m. with the “Run like a Nut” and “Bike Like a Nut” competitions. Runners can choose from 5K, 10K and half-marathon options while bikers can do a metric century ride (100 kilometers, or about 60 miles) or half that distance.

The street festival starts at 10 a.m. with live music, food and craft vendors, art demonstration, amusement rides, antique tractor show and, of course, a pecan cook-off competition.

The festival is once again held in conjunction with the Pee Dee Blues Bash, a series of free outdoor concerts Nov. 2-3 at several venues in town. The Acoustic Alley is in the 100 block of W. Evans St. and the Pecan Festival Blues stage is at Dargan and Cheves streets downtown.

The Blues Bash also has performances at Southern Hops and Apple Annie’s restaurants.