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  • From: Lucky Pittman <lucky.pittman@murraystate.edu>
  • To: nafex@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [NAFEX] Fwd: [RuralKyIn] Ohio Pawpaw Festival
  • Date: Fri, 08 Aug 2003 13:38:46 -0500

this one came across the RuralKyIn discussion list today:

for those who like Pawpaws...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 5, 2003

Contact: Chris Chmiel @ 740-698-2124 or pawpaw@frognet.net

State's `First Fruit' Celebrated at Ohio Pawpaw Festival

Albany, Ohio Join fanatics from around the country at the peak of the
season for two days filled with pawpaws - North America's largest
native tree fruit for the 5th Annual Ohio Pawpaw Festival on
Saturday, September 13 and Sunday, September 14, 2003. Held at Lake
Snowden near Albany, Ohio, this premier festival features all things
pawpaw foodstuffs, beer, music, art, history, trees and much more.

Major features of the festival include:

The Pawpaw Big Top (both days) - A tent dedicated solely to
the pawpaw, this is the place to be if you're interested in learning
more about pawpaws. Smell, touch and, most importantly, taste this
wonderful tropical-flavored fruit that's been growing in America for
thousands of years.


Pawpaw growers from across the country will have their best fruit
available. Taste samples of select varieties, purchase fruit to take
home, buy trees to plant and talk with pawpaw researchers and experts.
Representatives from the Ohio Pawpaw Growers Association (OPGA), the
PawPaw Foundation, Kentucky State University's Pawpaw Program, Ohio
University's School of Human and Consumer Sciences and Rural Action's
Sustainable Forestry Program will all help answer your pawpaw
questions. Presentations on pawpaw growing, cooking, genetics,
medicinal uses and more will be going on all day.


Best pawpaw competition (11:30 a.m. on Saturday) - This annual
event recognizes the many nuances of pawpaw flavors and
characteristics abounding in select and `wild' pawpaw varieties. How
does one talk about and describe this delicate flavor? What makes this
a good pawpaw? What makes this a bad pawpaw? This year's event,
sponsored by The PawPaw Foundation, and will award plaques and cash
prizes of $100 for first, $75 for second and $50 for third (plus
bragging rights) to the top fruits submitted.


Pawpaw cook-off (2:00 p.m. on Saturday) Professional chefs
and amateurs alike are invited to compete in the cook-off, which
features four categories: beverages, breads, desserts and sauces.
Winners will receive plaques for first prize in each category.


Pawpaw eating contest (5:00 p.m. on Saturday) - The rules are
simple. With hands behind their backs, contestants must slurp down a
pound of seedy pawpaw pulp, leaving nothing behind but clean pawpaw
seeds. The first person to spit all their seeds out clean wins!


Pawpaw beer garden (opens at noon on Saturday) - Come enjoy an
award-winning Pawpaw Stout, or broaden your botanical beer experience
by sipping a Spruce Tip Amber or a Spicewood Pilsner. These totally
unique and regional beers celebrate the botanical diversity of the
Appalachian region.


Celebrity judges for the competition and cook-off will include Fred
Dailey, executive director of the Ohio Department of Agriculture;
Suzanne Martinson, food editor of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; and Amy
Viny, a freelance food writer from Cleveland.


Other festival activities include:


· Live music (all day Saturday) - A full slate of entertainment
is on tap for Saturday featuring local and regional bands. Justin
Gordon, Rattletrap, the Wailin' Elroys, Megan Cameron, Southeast
Engine, Lisa DeRosia with Lush Budgett and Stella are some of the
bands that will be playing throughout the day on Saturday. Tony Beres
will host an `open jam' on Sunday, so bring your drums, guitars and
songs to share with the crowd.


· The World Atlatl Association (both days) This group returns
for the fifth year with its teaching and throwing area. Learn about
this ancient spear-throwing device and how to toss it. There will be a
sanctioned competition open to the public at 2:00 p.m. on both
Saturday and Sunday.


· The Jambalaya Jam (12:00 9:00 p.m.) Learn about fresh water
shrimp production going on in Ohio at this new festival feature.
There is an actual shrimp hatchery right at Lake Snowden, with on-site
harvest demonstrations scheduled form 2:00 4:00 p.m. on Saturday.
Jambalaya prepared by Hocking College culinary students will also be
available for sale.


· Unique Regional Artists (both days) Artists and craftspeople
from around the area will be displaying and selling their wares, many
with pawpaw motifs.


Pawpaws are rich, creamy and custard-like, and grow wild in 25 states
east of the Mississippi River. The pawpaw tree, known to
horticulturists as Asimina triloba, is a member of the custard apple
family, which contains over 2,100 tropical fruits. Of these, the
pawpaw is the only temperate species.


The pawpaw's nutritional superiority (it's higher in iron, niacin,
calcium, zinc, phosphorus, manganese, magnesium, copper, protein, fat
and seven of the 11 essential amino acids when compared to apples,
bananas, and oranges) also helped to sustain explorers Lewis & Clark
during parts of their expedition across America 200 years ago.


Hours are from 10:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m. on Saturday and from 10:00 a.m.
- 4:00 p.m. on Sunday. Cost is $3.00 per adult per day (kids under 12
are free) or $10.00 per adult for the weekend which includes a campsite.


For a detailed schedule of events, please visit www.ohiopawpaw.org or
call the Athens County Convention and Visitors Bureau at 800-878-9767.




  • [NAFEX] Fwd: [RuralKyIn] Ohio Pawpaw Festival, Lucky Pittman, 08/08/2003

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