Mayhaw Festival time!

There’s nothing more fun than a community that gets together to celebrate one of the bounties of nature provided in the area, and this weekend’s 33rd annual Mayhaw Festival in Marion this Friday and Saturday, May 9-10 is one of those times. And you are invited to join the fun!

The festivities celebrate the mayhaw, a wild fruit that looks a lot like a small crab apple. Hey, I’ll celebrate anything that’s good to eat. How about you?  Mayhaws grow all across the south and are concentrated near swamps and water. They are pretty tough to find and to harvest, but that is more than made up for by the distinct and wonderful flavor of jams, jellies, and even cakes that come from the fruit.  Personally, I don’t have any difficulty in finding the fruit or jelly at all — I just go to the Mayhaw festival and pick out a few jars of it from the various folks that really know what they are doing.

Food and children’s booths open at the festival at 6 p.m. Friday night. You can also pick up an attractive festival t-shirt in mayhaw or tan to keep as a momento of the festival once the jelly is all gone. The annual street dance will be held from 8-11 p.m. at the MSB parking lot featuring the Blue Rhythm Band.

Booths open up again at 8 a.m. Saturday morning and you can start taking part in the Treasure hunt — clue No. 1 will be given on stage at 10 a.m., followed by judging of the jelly. The parade will be at 11 a.m. (if you want to enter, line up by 10:30 a.m.!) and there will be activities throughout the day. Things will wrap up with children’s games on the stage at 1 p.m. and the final event of the day, the egg toss, at 2 p.m.