"festival" news and stories

Radishes are a nice, crunchy addition to salads, lending a peppery flavor and some color to whatever they're combined with. In Oaxaca, they take full advantage of the versatility of the vegetable by celebrating la Noche de Rabanos, or "the night of radishes," on December 23rd. The annual festival showcases the radish carvings, made from extremely large radishes (up to 10lbs). The carvings are often extremely elaborate, shaped as dancers, animals, village scenes and parts of folk stories, as well as religious images (like Nacimiento, the nativity scene).

The Radish festival began in the late 19th century when the mayor of Oaxaca "inaugurated the first exhibition of radish art." Now, tourists come in, "snapping pictures like radish paparazzi" and enjoying the carnival-like atmosphere. Cash and other prizes are given to the best pieces and lots of food and drinks (only some of which involve more radishes) are enjoyed.

Click here to see a flickr photo gallery of some of the really intricate radish entries from this year's festival.

[via neatorama]

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By munching his way through 34 ears of sweet corn in only 12 minutes, Joe LaRue set the world record for corn eating over the weekend at the Sweet Corn Fiesta at the South Florida Fairgrounds. For his efforts, LaRue took home $1,500 grand prize. He and other competitors said that technique and speed were crucial in corn-eating, since the biggest obstacle eaters must overcome is jaw fatigue. LaRue's winning technique involved a side-to-side typewriter eating pattern, wrap around sunglasses to minimize distractions and a Rage Against the Machine CD to get him motivated. The event was officiated by the International Federation of Competitive Eating.

[Image of Joe LaRue from IFCE]

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A dewberry is a relative of the blackberry that grows throughout the the country, particularly in New England and the South. They get their name from the fact that the berries are often seen covered in dew in the early mornings. Unlike other berries, the dark dewberries, which can be nearly black when ripe, reflect the color of the sky when they are covered with dew, making it noteworthy enough to generate the name. The New England berries are relatively common, but the Southern berries are less frequently seen because they grow only in the wild and are too fragile to ship. Actually, it would be more correct to say that they are rarely eaten and often seen, since they grown like weeds along fence lines and in vacant lots. The berries themselves are difficult to harvest. They grow on thorny vines, which for dense nests as though to protect the berries. Unfortunately for berry lovers, they taste good. Very good.

Going back generations, people in areas where dewberries grow, especially in Texas, have headed out to harvest them annually, just as their parents and grandparents did. They don’t do this to make a profit from selling the berries, though. They do it because nothing beats the smell of a fresh dewberry cobbler coming out of the oven. There is even a dewberry festival, which took place this past weekend in Cameron, Texas. If you can’t pick your own, the farmer’s market is a better place to look for them than the supermarket, but once you get some, try making a cobbler, or just serve with fresh, whipped cream.