The annual festival celebrating the regional fruit is back with educational tents and lots of good eats.
Whether it’s picked from the vine fresh, in locally brewed beer, home-made fudge or sweet barbecue sauce, the pawpaw is a popular fruit in Southeast Ohio, and Athenians take advantage of the Ohio Pawpaw Festival’s kick-off as an opportunity to enjoy them.
The 16th-annual Pawpaw Festival will take over the grounds of Lake Snowden, 5900 US 50, this weekend for three days of food, education, entertainment and fun for all ages. Admission costs $10 for one day or $20 for an all-weekend pass.
The pawpaw is a tropical fruit that grows in the temperate region of the United States, including Ohio. The pawpaw is Ohio’s state native fruit.
The festival was founded by Chris Chmiel, Athens County Commissioner and owner of Integration Acres, 16 years ago in an effort to educate the community about the rare fruit.
“I fell in love with the pawpaw,” Chmiel said. “I started trying to figure out ways we could bring more pawpaw products to people and educate people about them.”
In tradition with the festival, there are several educational tents and workshops that provide a variety of opportunities for festival-goers to learn about pawpaws, as well as other topics.
The Pawpaw Tent will feature lectures, games and workshops all centered around the fruit — ranging from a pawpaw growing lesson to pawpaw jeopardy.
“The pawpaw is a tropical fruit that’s uniquely American and we’re in a place where they grow,” said Rob Brannan, associate professor of food sciences and the coordinator for the Pawpaw Tent.
Other tents will also feature presentations on many different subject matters, such as back-to-farm topics, renewable energy initiatives and, new to the festival this year, a Pollinator/Butterfly Tent focusing on the decline in pollinators.
The educational aspect will be highlighted with a keynote speech from Joel Salatin titled “Local Food to the Rescue.” Salatin owns Polyface, Inc., a family-owned farm in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley that aims to develop agricultural enterprises that enhance the environment and the economy. He’s the author of nine books.
But for many, the draw to the festival will be the food, which Chmiel can only describe as “local.”
“You’re never going to see a pawpaw on your grocery shelf,” he said. “By design, it’s a great local food.”
The festival will have a large variety of pawpaw growers selling their fruits, along with many different pawpaw products.
There are also several pawpaw related contests going on throughout the weekend — including best pawpaw, the pawpaw cook-off and an eating contest, where participants must eat a pound of pawpaws the fastest and spit out the seeds clean without using their hands.
“It’s a fun way to educate people,” said Chmiel. “It’s really turned into a nice, community event. I’m quite proud of that. … It’s a great way to bring people into our community and highlight some of our strengths, have fun and eat lots of pawpaws.”
Besides the festival, pawpaws are available for purchase at local farmers markets, but are also prevalent all around Athens.
“Around here, you can go on a hike and find them,” said Chmiel, who has noticed pawpaws growing on the bike path, at the Ridges and at Stroud’s Run.
