We attended the 15th annual Pawpaw festival at Lake Snowden, Ohio. The pawpaw is a native Ohio fruit and was the main attraction of the festival.
We tried some cut-up raw pawpaw. The fruit is green and about the size of a potato. Inside it is either white or orangish with large brown or black seeds. The consistency is like custard, and I thought the taste (which can vary) was a mix of melon and papaya.
A variety of pawpaw derived foods were available, including pawpaw bread, pawpaw chutney, ham and pawpaw pizza, pawpaw shaved ice, and even pawpaw flavored beer! You could purchase pawpaw trees, pawpaw themed jewelry, and someone was walking around dressed in a giant pawpaw costume.
The venue – Lake Snowden is a park run by Hocking College. It offers camping, swimming, canoeing, and fishing. The Pawpaw festival weekend is very popular for camping and the camp site was full. Many people were taking advantage of the wonderful weather to go canoeing on the lake.
In addition to pawpaw, vendors were selling a variety of other foods. Tents were set-up with people selling all sorts of crafts. There was a band playing live music and many play areas for kids (including inflatable play areas, an obstacle course and a primitive water slide). A dog park was available for people with pooches.
Additional Information
- TrekOhio: All About Pawpaw (Asimina triloba)
- Ohio Pawpaw Festival
- Lake Snowden
- TrekOhio: The Atlatl – An Ancient Hunting Weapon — this was one of the activities people could try out at the pawpaw festival; it was great fun!
- TrekOhio: Athens County Parks & Preserves
- The band’s Facebook page: The Posers
More on Trees
Bald Cypress: a Deciduous Conifer
The American Tulip Tree (Liriodendron tulipifera)
All About Pawpaw (Asimina triloba)
So interesting post. I have never heard about pawpaw festivals, but now I have. Above other photos I love the totem pole photo. Sigh, I would love to see them someday. In our bookshelf we have small one which we bought from Toronto about 15 years ago.
By the way I am back from our road trip which we made to the North of the Arctic Circle. In the beginning of next year You’ll see them 13 posts.
Happy Sunday!
Thanks – I very much look forward to seeing your posts about your trip north of the Arctic Circle. I’ve always wanted to do that. Unfortunately the farthest north I’ve been is 59° when visiting the Orkney Islands (not very close at all)