Front Porch Purple Hull Pea Time Lapse

Pull up a chair and take a seat on the front porch. In partnership with Arkansas Life and Healthy Flavors Arkansas, this community-powered time-lapse project captures one of Arkansas’s most cherished traditions: shelling purple hull peas together.

Throughout the festival, participants of all ages are invited to join the circle, share stories, and help shell peas while contributing to a living portrait of Arkansas culture. As thousands of hands work together across the weekend, a time-lapse video will document the simple yet powerful act of gathering on the porch, a tradition that has connected families, neighbors, and communities for generations.

More than a foodways demonstration, the Front Porch Purple Hull Pea Time Lapse celebrates the conversations, memories, and relationships that grow alongside our food traditions. By the festival’s end, the finished time-lapse will serve as a visual reminder that Arkansas culture is created not only through grand performances and historic moments, but also through the everyday acts of sharing work, stories, and time with one another.

Come shell a few peas, tell a story, make a new friend, and become part of the picture. After all, Arkansas culture happens on the front porch.