the road | the food | a new direction
What began in 1955 as a civic project by the Mobile Junior Chamber of Commerce has over the decades grown into today’s Greater Gulf State Fair, Alabama’s largest fair (still run by volunteers from the Jaycees). The Greater Gulf, for those unfamiliar with the region, refers to South Alabama, Northwest Florida, and Southeast Mississippi, all, of course, along the Gulf of Mexico. This year’s theme: ““Lions, Tigers, The Fair , Oh My!”. Continue reading
You’d be forgiven for assuming that The State Fair of Louisiana is a festival of Cajun and Creole cookery. Yes, a few representatives from the southern bayous will be served, but take note that the fair is held in Shreveport, in the northwest corner of the state, near Arkansas and Texas. Note, as well, that musical performances will include David Allan Coe, if that means anything to you (if not, and you’re interested, Google his name with the word underground). In other words, this fair is more redneck than Cajun. Continue reading
Begun in 1903 with an ad hoc October display of pumpkins by the mayor of Circleville, Ohio, the Circleville Pumpkin Show has grown into America’s sixth largest festival, with more than 300,000 visitors expected this year. Admission is free, hence their slogan, “The Greatest Free Show on Earth.” The pumpkin delicacies to be found at the Show are legendary, and far predate the modern fad for pumpkin spice everything. Continue reading
They claim that a quarter of the rice eaten in the U.S. comes from Crowley, Louisiana. Who are “they”? Why Crowley, of course! We have neither reason nor desire to question the assertion. Crowley is in Louisiana so, to our ears, it has the ring of truth. Crowley is also host to the annual International Rice Festival (that’s International, mind you, not National!). Rice, an unsexy staple grain, seems an unlikely subject for celebration, which simply serves to piqué our interest in this fest all the more. The party begins this Thursday, October 15th and will run through Sunday, the 18th of October, 2015. Continue reading
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