Stroll around downtown Belzoni in the state of Mississippi and you’ll notice something right away: what are all these ornately decorated human-sized fish doing here? If you happen to find yourself on Magnolia Street you may come upon the Catfish Museum. Step inside to learn the “complete story of the catfish from fingerling to frying pan.” Outside the museum, admire King Cat, the world’s largest catfish sculpture. Continue reading
Category: March (Page 1 of 2)
When you’re in Blakely, not far from Georgia’s southwestern borders with Alabama and the Florida Panhandle, you’re in peanut country. You’ll see peanut farms all over the region, and it’s those hard-working farmers who are honored each year at the annual Peanut Proud Festival, which takes place this year on Saturday, March 28th. Continue reading
In 1953, a man named Alfred Stucki began managing Elberta’s Locker Plant in Alabama and it was there he originated the famous Elberta German sausage. Mr. Stucki died in 1973, and over the ensuing years the recipe for the sausage has evolved, but its roots can be traced back to Mr. Stucki’s 1953 original. And it’s that sausage that is celebrated twice a year in the town of Elberta, on the last Saturday of March and October. One of those days, March 28th, 2015, is almost here! Continue reading
Louisiana Crawfish Festival, Chalmette LA, March 26th through 29th 2015
Are you ready to pinch some tails and suck some heads? Crawfish season has arrived, and with it comes the annual Louisiana Crawfish Festival in Chalmette! This celebration of the local mudbug began in 1975, and has grown in popularity over the years. Today, people arrive from all over the country to consume crawfish in every way imaginable and then some. The most popular way to eat the tiny shellfish is boiled. The meat is in the tail, and you “pinch” the tail to extract the tasty morsel. Many folks like to “suck the heads,” where the juicy and flavorful crawfish “fat” is located. Continue reading
Maple Weekend, Across New York State, March 21st and 22nd, 28th and 29th 2015
This weekend and next, maple producers all over New York State are presenting the best of their efforts to the public in the annual giant open house called Maple Weekend. Almost 160 producers are participating, each in their own way. The pancake breakfasts many of them host are so popular that the Maple Weekend website has a search function devoted just for that. While the offerings at each producer vary you can be sure you’ll get to pour house-made maple syrup at every one of the breakfasts! Continue reading
Marco Island Seafood and Music Festival, Marco Island FL, March 20th through March 22nd 2015
You’ve got until 9 p.m. tonight, and then all day tomorrow to enjoy the Marco Island Seafood and Music Festival, which began Friday morning. The annual festival, which was first held seven years ago, is put on by the local Rotary and Kiwanis clubs. Seafood and music – that’s what you’re here for! The fresh Florida seafood you’ll find includes fresh fish, grouper, crab cakes, stone crab, shrimp, crawdads, and chowder. That’s just for starters. Continue reading
Arts & Seafood Celebration, Dania Beach FL, March 21st and 22nd 2015
Presented by the Dania Beach Community Redevelopment Agency, the third annual Arts & Seafood Celebration will feature a wide variety of fresh seafood from both local vendors and local chefs, along with a beer and wine garden. There’ll be live entertainment on the main stage all day, and arts and crafts vendors and artists galore. Witness performance artists creating works of art to music. There’s plenty of activities planned for the kids: a hands-on arts and crafts sand clinic, painting the fire truck, creating the Under the Sea mural, face painting, and rides. Watch as Team Sandtastic creates their massive sand sculpture all weekend. Continue reading
Taste of the Sea & Sandy Shoes Seafood Festival, Fort Pierce FL, March 21st 2015
Long-time and former residents of Fort Pierce, Florida have fond memories of a festival that was held in town for many years: the Sandy Shoes Festival. The cattle ranches to the west of Fort Pierce played a big part in Sandy Shoes, especially during the annual Cattlemen’s Parade. Awards were given for the best horsewoman and horseman, most beautiful horse, and best ranch unit. Five years ago, with the rebirth of downtown Fort Pierce, the Sandy Shoes Festival was resurrected and combined with a seafood festival. The fifth annual Taste of the Sea & Sandy Shoes Seafood Festival takes place this Saturday, March 21st, in Veterans Memorial Park, along the Fort Pierce waterfront. Continue reading
Razor Clam Festival & Seafood Extravaganza, Ocean Shores WA, March 20th through 22nd 2015
Between North Bay and the Pacific Ocean, at the southern tip of Washington’s Point Brown Peninsula, sits the city of Ocean Shores. It is here, and up and down the coast, where you’ll find the unique and much prized razor clam. This weekend, from Friday March 20th through Sunday March 22nd, Ocean Shores celebrates its seaside provender with the ninth annual Razor Clam Festival & Seafood Extravaganza. Continue reading
Easter’s coming! The secular aspects of the holiday are filled with cute little rabbits, from chocolate bunnies to the Easter Rabbit herself. So why not round up the kids and take them to the Iowa Rabbit Festival, which was begun in honor of the only rabbit processing plant in the region (now long gone)? The little ones will love the rabbit cook-off, won’t they? In what seems to be intentionally and deliciously perverse timing, the 29th Iowa Rabbit Festival takes place this year on Friday, March 20th and Saturday, March 21st in the town of Iowa, LA. Note that Iowa refers to the town; the state, appropriately enough, is Louisiana, where folks know their ways around the kitchen with the furry little animals. Continue reading
Highland Maple Festival, Monterey and McDowell VA, March 14th and 15th, 21st and 22nd 2015
Let’s start with doughnuts. Maple doughnuts. As fried and glazed by the Mill Gap Ruritans. These pastries are a passion among Highland Maple Festival veterans. You’ll see a long line of folks waiting for their chance to purchase a pair, or a dozen, or multiple dozens. If it’s you first time at Virginia’s Highland Maple Festival (this is the 57th annual edition), which is going on this weekend and next weekend, you might want to make those maple doughnuts your first priority, as they stop selling at 1 p.m. Or would you rather begin your day with a stack of plain or buckwheat pancakes topped with local syrup? Choices… Continue reading
45 maple stops. Two weekends. It’s the Ohio March Maple Madness Driving Tour, as sugaring operations across the state have joined together to present Ohio maple at its finest. Each of the 45 stops will participate in their own way. Here are some of the maple activities you’ll experience depending on which sugar houses you visit: taste sap fresh from the trees and syrup fresh from the evaporator, enjoy an AYCE pancake breakfast, take a sugaring tour, enjoy a hayride or horse-drawn wagon ride, purchase maple products, listen to live music, or enjoy maple products by a fireplace. Sample maple candy, try maple biscotti, a maple latte, or maple wine. See how maple candy and maple cream are made. Continue reading
The Kalamazoo Nature Center celebrates their 50th annual Maple Sugar Festival this coming weekend, March 14th and 15th. Start your visit with a pile of pancakes drenched with Michigan maple. Follow that up with a maple sugar tour through the woods with a naturalist, which departs every 15 minutes. At the DeLano Homestead you can see how sugaring was done in the 19th century, take a horse-drawn wagon ride, and observe blacksmithing, spinning, and fiber art demonstrations. When you catch your second wind, enjoy some ice cream topped with more of that sweet elixir. Continue reading
Original Marathon Seafood Festival, Marathon FL, March 14th through 15th 2015
Coral and black stone crab claws with mustard sauce… fresh lobster tails… fried fillets of mahi mahi… steamed and spiced Key West pink shrimp… ceviche and fritters of conch… all these prized sea creatures, and many more, are caught locally in the waters around Marathon in the Florida Keys, and they’ll all be available (along with lots of ice-cold beer) at the 39th annual Original Marathon Seafood Festival on March 14th and 15th. If you love fresh, local seafood this is one festival you want to get to eventually. Continue reading
“Everybody is going to tell you they taste like chicken. That’s a lie.” So says a local at the Bucket of Blood Saloon in Virginia City, NV, while waiting for the Rocky Mountain Oyster Fry (formerly known as the International Comstock Mountain Oyster Fry) to begin. Traditionalists like ‘em deep-fried but they might also be served with bordelaise sauce or as, gulp, sushi. We don’t recall Hoss or Little Joe riding into Virginia City for a mess of testicle sushi, but times have changed… Continue reading
As soon as late winter days see above-freezing temperatures (and as long as overnight temps drop below freezing) sugar maple sap is flowing and trees are tapped in maple sugaring country. That’s also when the regional maple festivals begin to pop up. This year’s 25th annual Hebron Maple Festival in Connecticut has been postponed from this coming weekend to March 21st and 22nd, because of heavy snow in the area. When that weekend arrives you’ll get the opportunity to immerse yourself in all things maple. Continue reading
Oysterfest, Fulton TX, March 5th through 8th 2015
The oyster shucking contest is Sunday afternoon. The oyster eating contests are tomorrow and Sunday. There are cash prizes for the winners, up to $700 for the master shucker! Yes, we’re talking about Fulton, Texas’ 36th annual Oysterfest, co-sponsored by the town and its fire department, which began yesterday and continues through Sunday. Fulton is a Gulf Coast town about halfway between Houston and Mexico, perfectly situated for obtaining the Gulf’s freshest oysters. Continue reading
Central Florida Fair, Orlando FL, February 26th through March 8th 2015
It began last Thursday and will continue through Sunday. We’re talking about the 103rd annual Central Florida Fair in Orlando. The first fair, celebrating the region’s agricultural industry, took place in 1910. Continue reading
Pennsylvania Maple Festival, Meyersdale PA, March 21st through 22nd & 25th through 29th 2015
One day in early 1947, Kate Smith mentioned on her radio show how much she would enjoy a taste of Vermont maple. The local citizens of Somerset County in Pennsylvania, inspired by this comment, sent her some of their own Pennsylvania brew. Kate’s response? In April, she proclaimed on her show that Somerset County maple syrup is the sweetest she ever tasted! And so the seed was planted for the Pennsylvania Maple Festival in Meyersdale, which was first held the following March. Continue reading
Buzzard Day, Hinckley OH, March 15 2015
It happens Sunday, March 15th, in Hinckley, OH: the return of the buzzards! Yes, the first sign of spring appears like clockwork (or so they say) on March 15th of each year, as that most unlovely bird, also known as a turkey vulture, shows up at the Hinckley Reservation in Ohio. How is it that the first buzzard appearance is always March 15th? Simple, really: no sighting of the bird is official until the Official Buzzard Spotter spots the first buzzard on the morning of the 15th. Continue reading
