A crowd of enthusiasts from near and far gathered at Lake Snowden in Albany this weekend to celebrate one of Ohio's natural fruits - the pawpaw.
The pawpaw, a fist-sized fruit with a rough green skin and a golden, custard-like pulp, grows naturally in Southeast Ohio and the Ohio River Valley.
The Ohio Pawpaw Festival, which began as the Albany Pawpaw Festival in October 1999, was renamed and taken over by the Ohio Pawpaw Growers Association in 2000.
They were falling all over the ground
and I thought they were too good to deserve that fate said Chris Chmiel, who has been growing pawpaws for seven years and helped start the festival. I think the potential industry for Ohio is really important.
Visitors to the festival attended lectures on the science of the pawpaw, cooking demonstrations, a cook-off and an eating competition. Local merchants sold clothing, jewelry and artwork. Organizations such as Sierra Club and Sunday Creek Watershed Group provided brochures with information on local environmental issues. Local growers and eateries sold the fruit by the pound and other delicacies such as ice cream, popsicles, jam, beer, barbecue sauce and teriyaki - all made from pawpaws.
I've never eaten a pawpaw before said festival visitor Daniel Fuller of Youngstown. Part of the allure was George Washington's favorite dessert was chilled pawpaw.
Daniel and his father, Eugene, said they learned about the festival from pawpaw Web sites and came to get trees because they are the only host for Zebra Swallowtail butterfly cocoons.
Younger attendees at the festival tested their aim at the atlaltl range. The atlaltl, a prehistoric hunting weapon, is still used in some cultures, said festival worker Debbie Andrews of Albany. The atlaltl darts, which range from 4 feet to 7 feet in length, are aimed and shot with a foot-long stick with a forked end.
Other attractions included live performances by local bands such as Five Guys Named Moe, Big Red and the Wagoneers and Greg O'Brien & The Spoodoo Cadillacs. Children at the festival participated in storytelling and a pawpaw puppet show.
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Casey Westlake
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Pawpaw grower Chris Chmiel weighs fruit for a customer at the sixth annual Pawpaw Festival on Saturday. The festival included cooking demonstrations and lectures.
