Standing at the pivotal point of the year to leap into fall, it is only fitting that there be a feast to give the winter months an ironic warm welcome.
The Athens Messenger will team up with local breweries and eateries for the second year in a row to host the Athens Eats festival. The festivities will start on Sunday at 2 p.m. at Tailgreat Park.
Athens, being a hub for students and academicians alike can very often overlook the rest of the town, Andrea Lewis, the events and marketing director of the Athens Messenger said, and Athens Eats takes note of that and attempts to bring together the entire populace.
“The (Athens Eats) festival will allow students to enjoy what Athens has to offer beyond the university,” Paul Freedman, co-owner of Dutch Creek Winery, said. “Helping individuals overcome the town vs. gown conflict.”
A single business will cater the food at the event. The events management department at The Athens Messenger decided on assigning the job to The Cajun Clucker.
“Instead of diluting the business to a lot of vendors we chose one vendor this year,” Lewis said. “By choosing and focusing on one we are able to make sure that we buy a large quantity of food from him.”
The Cajun Clucker, run by Will Drury, is a cajun and creole inspired food company. Starting in the business of food trucks, they now have a kitchen space at Little Fish Brewing Company on Armitage Road. Lewis admired The Cajun Clucker’s devotion to local produce and focus on producing quality food.
“We chose him because we wanted to do a twist on fresh American pub fare,” Lewis said. “He uses everything Ohio-sourced, straight from the farmer’s market.”
Along with the cajun food, fest-goers will find an array of wines and spirits to pair with it. Local wineries such as Dutch Creek Winery, Shade Winery and Hocking Hills Winery will be available to color the customers’ palettes with flavored vino.
Dutch Creek will be showcasing their homemade honey wine. Cindy Freedman, co-owner of the company, described it as having a semi-sweet but complex undertone.
“We don’t mess with the details much,” she said. “We use the honey from wildflowers found in and around (Athens).”
Lewis said the outdoor festival will have a token system in place to avoid the cumbersome activity of trading change. Each token is worth $2 and they can be pre-booked at The Athens Messenger’s event page.
Additionally, there will be a “cruise in” arranged for the audience to enjoy. The Athens Eats Classic Cruise-In will serve as an opportunity for the town’s folks to showcase their classic models of cars, trucks and motorcycles in exchange for a $15 registration charge.
The Athens Messenger joins hands with hometown bands to indulge families in local melodies. Backwords, who consider themselves “Athens’ oldest Band”, will be opening the show at 2 p.m. It will be followed by The Appalachian Hillside Revolution, who promises to serenade the crowd with “You Are My Sunshine” and other ballads. The Wild Honeybees will close the show off by playing New Orleans inspired R&B music.
Lewis said the success of the event will boil down to the synergy of the soulful food, decadent wine, uplifting music and an unforgettable late-summer ambiance.
