Thursday’s gray-sky morning gave way to a bright and sunny afternoon start to the 2019 Suffolk Peanut Fest, as thousands of people came to the Suffolk Executive Airport for another year of food and fun with family.

People walked past a giant, inflatable Mr. Peanut as they entered this year’s Peanut Fest on Thursday. They were met with delicious smells wafting from the many food vendors cooking so many delectable items — many of which were fried.

Friend candy and Oreos and funnel cakes went with lemonade and barbecues, plus barbecue, burgers, hotdogs, candy apples and so much more food that will fill bellies throughout the weekend.

The menu also included the Suffolk Ruritan Club’s annual Shrimp Feast for ticketholders on Thursday, and the music of The Embers beach band could be heard as you strolled past the tents and towards the sounds of festival rides.

Those sounds were mostly children laughing and hollering on the Ferris wheel, Orient Express, and winding Landslide rides, just to name a few of the attractions. There were also plenty of festival games that gave children and adults alike chances to win prizes.

One new addition to the Peanut Fest this year was the Straw Maze. Children ran through the roughly 3- to 4-foot tall maze over and over again with smiles on their faces.

Lucy Hickok stood by the Straw Maze with Kaitlynn Carter as Hickok’s son Jacob, 7, ran the maze as much as he could.

“He’s been through it like 55 times already,” Hickok said, “and now he’s got his friend with him, so he’s in heaven.”

Kaitlynn Carter brought her four children, ages 2 to 10, to the Peanut Fest on Thursday. It was the sixth year that she and her family have enjoyed the Suffolk festival.

“It’s something to do for the kids, so they can enjoy a ride or two,” Carter said.

Carter said that she and her family will be back at the airport on Friday for her children’s favorite event — the Demolition Derby, which starts at 7 p.m. Friday in the arena.

“They get so excited,” Carter said about her children when they get to see the cars crash into each other at the derby, “or they get mad when it’s the other car that they don’t want to win.”

2019 marks the 42nd anniversary of the Suffolk Peanut Festival, the city’s premier, family-friendly event that honors the city’s agriculture heritage and devotion to peanuts, our favorite legumes.”

Peanut Fest will continue through Sunday, with more events and activities on the schedule at the Suffolk Executive Airport. Visit suffolkpeanutfest.com for more information.