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If you’ve ever wondered how people can eat the slimy green vegetable we call okra — you might want to attend an Okra Festival. In Irmo, South Carolina, the festival is held in late September and known as the Irmo Okra Strut.

The Strut began in 1973 when the Lake Murray-Irmo Women’s Club got the idea for a fundraiser after hearing a radio announcer make a joke about the ancient Irmese inhabitants of the town, who were likely short farmers living on okra.

The festival has grown over the years, celebrating its 37th year in 2010. Irmo is a bedroom community of Columbia, and the festival often brings more than 50,000 visitors. It includes a concert and street dance on Friday night, then the main celebration on Saturday with children’s entertainment (at Okryland,) arts and crafts (along Okrafitti Street,) portraits with Okra Man and okra eating contests. At 9 a.m. the actual strut, a parade, kicks off with 100 units and over 2,800 people in it.

Souvenirs are available at, what else, pod shops. Other varieties of festival foods are plentiful, and of course the Lake Murray-Irmo Womens Club members have their fried okra for sale.

“We had okra ice cream one year,” says executive director Jim Twitty. It was green and good, he adds, and fortunately, didn’t taste much like okra.

There are a few other okra festivals around the South, although none as long-lasting. Alabama has its okra festival in Burkville in August (see blog post about Alabama food festivals here.)

The African-American Museum in St. Martinsville, Louisiana (about 15 minutes south of Lafayette) has hosted an okra festival the first Saturday in October every years since 2000, celebrating this vegetable brought to America by slaves from West Africa. It includes an okra cook-off that starts at 6 a.m. Museum Curator/Director Danielle Fontenette says the dishes, which must include okra as an ingredient, are always imaginative and range from fried okra to okra pies and okra boudin. The festival is held under the Evangeline Oak on New Market Street in front of the museum.

For the record, fried okra is not slimy in the least!

Photo of Okra Man courtesy the Irmo Okra Strut Commission. Used with permission.

Looking for that perfect vacation spot? One with all the outdoor recreation you could handle, yet good restaurants, theater and art in a town small enough you won’t spend all your time in traffic? That would be Fort Collins, Colorado.

The town of around 150,000 has been recognized twice by Allstate Insurance in its top ten list of Safest Drivers. It is 35 miles from Rocky Mountain National Park, with its 18 peaks over 13,000 feet. Read the rest of this entry »

Strolling with his young son to a fishing hole, the whistling sheriff called many to the television set decades ago.  Mount Airy, North Carolina is Andy Griffith’s hometown and the setting for the fictional town of Mayberry. Every September the town pays homage to its fame with a Mayberry Days Festival. A special celebration in 2010 will mark the 50th anniversary of the iconic television show. Guests will include Betty Lynn who played Thelma Lou and Karen Knotts, daughter of Don Knotts. Visit the Andy Griffith Museum, opened in 2009, to see memorabilia from the television show. Downtown, you can stop in at Floyd’s Barber Shop, Opie’s Candy Store, the Mayberry Courthouse and Snappy Lunch.

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The National Park Service has announced it is waiving entrance fees for the weekend of August 14 – 15. While more than 200 of the 392 national parks never charge entrances fees — this is a great time to plan a visit to one that does.

Arches National Park in Eastern Utah has some of the most awe-inspiring scenery in the United States, with its fins (long narrow formations,) balanced rocks and over 2,000 of those breath-taking arches. Read the rest of this entry »

The Garden of Eden may not have been in the United States, but there is certainly a close second to it in Pennsylvania. From its start as a Quaker farm 300 years ago, Longwood Gardens has grown into one of the top gardens in the world, welcoming over 200,000 visitors annually with its variety of plantings, fountains, concerts, theater and fireworks.

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While the state of Maryland did not secede from the Union during the Civil War, it remained sharply divided in opinion — the Eastern region had a tobacco-based economy and thus depended on slavery, the Western side was pro Union. The state’s proximity to Washington D. C. and its physical geography made it vitally important in the war. It had both an active Underground Railroad network and pockets of Confederate sympathizers.

Surratt House and Tavern

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If some white sand and waves are on your mind this summer, it might be time to visit South Carolina. With its lowcountry culture and deep sense of history, there’s a lot more to do here than slather on sunscreen and shake out gritty towels.

In Beaufort, for example, take a horse-drawn carriage tour of this quaint coastal town, which will celebrate its 300 birthday in 2011. It has both Revolutionary War history and Civil War history. Many plantation houses are still visible as Sherman spared this town on his march to the sea. One of the earliest schools for freed slaves was established here in 1862. The Penn Center, now a museum and cultural center, considers itself both a link to the past and a bridge to the future.

Daufuskie Island, reachable only by private boat or public ferry, was the site of native American homes, a Spanish settlement and later occupation by Union forces during the Civil War. It became home to freed slaves, so the Gullah tradition exists here still. The island was made famous in the book The Water is Wide by Pat Conroy, and was the site of filming for the movie Conrack, based on the book.

In addition to beach, South Carolina’s lowcountry has maritime forest, freshwater wetlands and salt marsh, all of which offer plenty of opportunities to fish, birdwatch or just observe nature. Rent a boat, take a guided tour or see the wildlife from water level in a kayak trip through the marshes. The area is bounded by the Edisto River, the state’s longest blackwater river, and site of the Edisto Canoe and Kayak Trail Carolina Heritage Outfitters offers canoe and kayak rentals for self-guided tours or guided trips.

Golfers will find plenty of challenging and beautiful courses in this part of the state. The Heritage Golf Tournament is held every April on Hilton Head Island in Sea Pines. For non-golfing spouses, there are boutiques, art galleries and outlet shopping available. The beauty of the area has attracted many artists, and the best of their work is available at the South Carolina Artisans Center in Walterboro, including sweet grass baskets, ceramics, jewelry and paintings.

(Photos courtesy Lowcountry Tourism Commission. Used with permission.)

Lincoln County in Southern New Mexico has just about everything to tempt visitors — mountain vistas, scenic valleys, extensive history, outdoor recreation, casinos and art. Located about 170 miles from Albuquerque, the Billy the Kid National Scenic Byway showcases the diversity of views, entertainment and culture in this area.

Billy the Kid- Lincoln Jail

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Texas Hill Country recently celebrated the grand opening of Kickapoo Cavern State Park. The 6,400-acre park has been open only on a limited basis since it was purchased in 1991, but is now a seven-day-a-week park. Read the rest of this entry »

Pigeon Forge, Tennessee offers rides, entertainment and resort fun, but one of the differences between this little town and other glitzy vacation destinations is its “folksiness” — that sincere, small-town “we’re glad you’re here” attitude. This year, Pigeon Forge has initiated an innovative “Taking Vacation Back” contest with a heart-warming difference from other give-aways.

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