The Best Little Museum in the World has done it again with a first – class production of the sixth annual Elderberry Festival. The Union and Confederate soldiers were hold- over decorations from the recent 150th anniversary commemoration of The Battle of Mobile Bay, one of the first and most famous battles in Naval history.
Fairhope Museum of History Director, Donnie Barrett, led seminars on the many uses and benefits of the local berry. Did you know that the elderberry has five times more antioxidants than the blueberry? Neither did I!
The Kracker Dan Minstrels performed lively period music that kept everyone dancing while they sampled elderberry treats.
The elderberry ice cream went fast, but they allowed me to take a spoon and literally scrape the bottom of the freezer for the last bite. It was tart-sweet-tangy-cold- delicious!
The middle row above shows a ribbon with a tiny elderberry next to it. No wonder it takes a long time to squeeze each one! Ha! (that’s a form of elderberry humor). Two lovely former Elderberry Queens are shown in the center, and Oscar, the museum dog worked hard to keep the area crumb free in the area where they judged the elderberry baked goods.
Cakes, pies, jellies, tortes, cobblers . . . you name it, it was there.Â
Don’t elderberries make a beautiful and unique floral arrangement?
An example of an actual elderberry plant was on display. These grow wild in our area, and Donnie Barrett is experimenting with cultivating the native plant to produce the best and healthiest variety possible.
Here are some of the products we were able to sample. I was quite distracted by the vintage tablecloths!
In the seminar, we were taught how to properly pick the berries and make juice. Can you spot the one green berry in the bowl? One tiny green berry can ruin your entire recipe and is a terrible pain to try and remove!
The current beautiful Elderberry Queen Ellie, takes a break in front of a Craig Sheldon sculpture. As she took her reign and descended from the stairs, the crowd serenaded her with an original song, sung to the “Miss America” tune. Queen Ellie (Lottie) successfully reigned over yet another fun-filled and unique day in Fairhope.
For more photos from this fun day, and to see upcoming events, visit the Friends of Fairhope Museum of History facebook page.