Nilla Wafers Become Presenting Sponsor of National Banana Pudding Festival

Centerville, TN (PRUnderground) September 24th, 2026, Mondelēz International and its iconic NILLA® Wafers brand have officially signed on as the presenting sponsor for the 17th Annual National Banana Pudding Festival, taking place October 3-4, 2026. Held at the Hickman County Ag Pavilion in Centerville, Tennessee, this premier culinary celebration brings thousands of dessert lovers together to honor America's favorite comfort dessert.

For generations, banana pudding and Nilla have gone together like Sunday dinner and a second helping. Nabisco began baking its vanilla wafers in 1898, and by the 1940s, the company was printing a banana pudding recipe right on the box. That little recipe traveled into kitchens all across the South, copied onto index cards, tucked into church cookbooks, and handed down from mothers to daughters and grandsons. Today, when someone lifts a spoonful of banana pudding and remembers a grandmother's kitchen, there is a good chance a box of Nilla wafers was sitting on her counter.

Nilla has supported the festival since 2010. Its move to presenting sponsor, the festival's highest level of partnership, grows a relationship built over many Octobers in Hickman County. NBPF plans to include more on-site activation with Nilla, including naming the Main stage after Nilla.

The festival itself began with twelve community volunteers in Centerville who wanted a way to raise money for neighbors hit by disasters, fires, tornadoes, and floods. They incorporated the National Banana Pudding Festival as a nonprofit in September 2009, and banana pudding has been doing good in Hickman County ever since. On the Puddin' Path, eleven local nonprofits serve their own banana pudding to raise money for their work. At the National Cook-Off, cooks from across the country compete for the title of Best Banana Pudding in America.

The 17th annual National Banana Pudding Festival, presented by Nilla Wafers, takes place Saturday, October 3 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, October 4 from noon to 5 p.m. at the Hickman County Ag Pavilion in Centerville, Tennessee. Tickets and directions are available at BananaPuddingFest.org.

The festival offers live entertainment on multiple stages, children's activities, and food and craft vendors in historic Grinder's Switch. Visitors can enjoy a variety of events, from cooking demonstrations to live music and family-friendly activities. The festival aims to celebrate the rich history and cultural significance of banana pudding while supporting local charities and community organizations.