Syrup Day

On the first Saturday after Thanksgiving every year there is a day dedicated to making syrup near Calcasieu, a small town in Louisiana. My parents invited us and we followed their lead to the farm where this celebration takes place. It seemed we kept going and turning and going down a long curvy road, until suddenly I saw the sign "Syrup Day". Throughout the entire day the air sounded with music and old time gospel singing. I quickly found the syrup vat and saw that it was boiling over a fire. The cook and owner of the property said that at 1:30 or there abouts, the syrup would be ready. In the meantime, we watched corn shucking, hay baling and corn being milled into corn meal. Turnip greens and pork cracklins were cooked over an open fire and other helpers were demonstrating how sugar cane is processed to make the syrup. There was a small cabin set up with a dog-run, old time kitchen, and the wash tub on the back porch. There were probably over 300 in attendance. We were all served a lunch of gumbo or taco soup, corn bread, dessert, and drink around noon. The demonstrations continued and I was able to get lots of pictures. The owners/organizers asked for only a monetary donation to help finance the following years Syrup Day. This is an annual event and a wonderful experience and education. We bought several jars of syrup to share and enjoyed watching all the demonstrations.