Eighth Annual Ohio Pawpaw Festival Celebrates Ohio's First Fruit
The eighth annual Ohio Pawpaw Festival celebrates Ohio's first fruit, the pawpaw (asimina triloba); the festival is held at Lake Snowden in Albany, Ohio (near Athens).
Albany, OH (PRWEB) August 22, 2006
The Eighth Annual Ohio Pawpaw Festival will take place September 16 and 17 (Saturday and Sunday) in Albany, Ohio. The pawpaw, the largest edible fruit native to North America, tastes similar to a banana, often with the tanginess of a mango. Pawpaw fanatics and friends from across the country will convene at the peak of the pawpaw season for a weekend filled with fresh pawpaws, pawpaw foods, pawpaw beer, pawpaw music, pawpaw art, pawpaw history, pawpaw trees, pawpaw people, and much more. The festival will be held at the Lake Snowden Education and Recreation Park in Albany, Ohio (5 miles west of Athens on US 50). The gates open at 10 a. m. on both days. The event costs $5 per person per day (or $8 for both days); children 12 and under are admitted free.
Visitors to this year's festival will enjoy live entertainment with musicians (with styles ranging from blue-grass to blues to rock) performing on a solar-powered stage. Attendees can watch (or even enter!) the best pawpaw competition, where growers have their fruit judged on flavor, size, aroma, and other qualities. Other activities include the pawpaw cook-off, the pawpaw-eating contest, and a "pawpawlympics" for kids. Visitors can also browse the community marketplace (featuring vendors as well as informational displays by local service and advocacy groups).
Never had a pawpaw? Then this is the place to be—there will be wild as well as cultivated fruits available for sampling and purchase; you'll also find seed-grown as well as grafted pawpaw trees for sale.
Never heard of a pawpaw? The pawpaw is a fruit of the pawpaw tree (scientific name "asimina triloba") and is the largest edible fruit native to North America. Pawpaws were eaten (and probably cultivated) by Native Americans well before the arrival of Europeans. The taste of a pawpaw is often described as "tropical" with a flavor that is similar to bananas, often with the tanginess of a mango; the consistency of the ripe fruit is like that of a creamy custard. Pawpaw trees are also the only host plant of the beautiful zebra swallowtail butterfly's larva.
For more information, visit the Ohio Pawpaw Festival's website at http://www. pawpawfest. com (http://www. pawpawfest. com) or contact Gina Geremia (festival coordinator) via email or via phone at +1 740-992-7992.
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