
The mountain town of Blairsville, Georgia had a
sorghum festival yesterday. Fall is syrup-making time and farmers up in Union County like to celebrate after they've got their cane harvest in and the sweet juice is all boiled down to syrup. There's music, and crafts demonstrations, and sporting contests to see who can shinny up a greased pole the fastest, or eat the most biscuits dipped in sorghum syrup.
Bleb favored entering the latter contest, and was disappointed to learn that mules are only allowed to grind the cane, not eat the product (with or without biscuits).
Speaking of festivals, I'll be back up in Dahlonega next Saturday and Sunday to emcee their annual
Gold Rush Days. The weather should be just right for the hog calling and clogging contests. Dahlonega is an old mining town, and their festival offers visitors a chance to do some gold-panning, as well as watch a parade and try all kinds of food. The trees should be at or near their brightest autumn colors by then, too. Some folks even say that you see more gold in the trees up there than in the streams. If so, then the real gold rush is when folks hurry up to the mountains to see all the fall foliage -- and that's an event where everyone strikes it rich.
copyright ©2011 Laurie J. Anderson, all rights reserved.