When people around here think of moonshine, they probably think first of Wilkes County and fast cars running from revenuers.

That could change if the first Carolina 'Shine Fest becomes an annual festival in Madison, as organizers hope it will.

After all, Madison has the only licensed distillery in North Carolina. Piedmont Distillers Inc., located in an old train station, makes moonshine legally under such names as Junior Johnson's Midnight Moon and Catdaddy Carolina Moonshine.

Junior Johnson is - well, Junior Johnson, otherwise known as Robert Glenn Johnson Jr., a NASCAR driver who learned his driving skills running moonshine out of the hills of Wilkes County. Johnson was born in Rockingham County and is a partner in Piedmont Distillers.

The Carolina 'Shine Fest will be this weekend in downtown Madison, with free admission and parking. Hours are 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. on Saturday and noon-5:30 p.m. on Sunday.

And yes, visitors who are over 21 can partake of the moonshine products of Piedmont Distillery as well as beer and wine. There will be separate drinking and non-drinking areas at the festival.

The event also features tours of the distillery and a chance to meet Johnson. There will be lots of North Carolina barbecue on hand as well as seven generations of stock cars and a collection of private cars that were used in running illegal moonshine.

Joe Michalek, one of the owners of the distillery, grew up in New York State. He worked with R.J. Reynolds in Winston-Salem, and his love of bluegrass and country music introduced him to moonshine.

"Through research, I came across what was the only permitted and licensed distillery in the state," Michalek said. But the owner of that license hadn't put it to use.

Michalek bought the distillery and got it going, took in partners who included Johnson, and is now distributing his product in 19 states.

"Our formula is based on an original recipe and we make it in 300-gallon batches," Michalek said. At 80 proof, it's not as strong as some of the 110-proof moonshine that Johnson hauled back in the day. But taste tests showed people liked the lighter, smoother product.

Getting a license to run a distillery is complicated and requires the payment of fees, not to mention the taxes that tempted moonshiners to evade the law to begin with. The result is a $20 bottle of moonshine, compared to around $6 for the same amount made by a bootlegger.

The festival will benefit the Southern Culture Society, a non-profit organization formed to promote the cultural richness of the American South. Michalek is one of the directors of the group.

Johnson, 78, said that he never thought in his younger days that moonshine would get its own festival.

The moonshine he's making legally is his grandfather's recipe, and it tastes "pretty close" to the original, he said. Johnson said he expects to run into a lot of race fans during the festival: "I'm going to be there signing autographs and talking to people."

There's more.

The festival will have music as well as moonshine, stock cars and barbecue on both days.

Saturday
11 a.m. - Daniel Dean.
Noon - Holy Ghost Tent Revival, noon.
2 p.m. - Possum Jenkins,.
4 p.m. - Matt Stillwell.

Sunday
12:45 p.m. - Bruce Piephoff and Band.
2:15 p.m. - Matt Hill.
3:45 p.m. - Pat Cohen.
Admission is free. For more information, call 336- 445-0055.