Sustainably Delicious: Annual Fest Celebrates Native Fruit

It's been called everything from Asimina triloba to a West Virginia banana, but for hundreds of Lake Snowden-bound festivalgoers, the pawpaw is synonymous with the word "fun."

Now in its 14th year, The Ohio Pawpaw Festival returns this weekend to Albany, Ohio, with live music, food, arts and crafts, contests, sustainable-living workshops and kids' activities.

The fest was created in 1999 by Integration Acres' Chris Chmiel as a way to celebrate one of America's largest native tree fruits, which is plentiful in Southeast Ohio and noted for its diverse culinary uses and nutritional properties.

The pawpaw has gained notoriety over the past decade. It became Ohio's native state fruit in 2009, thanks to the efforts of Chmiel and former Ohio State Senator Jimmy Stewart.

The annual festival has also grown in stature. What started out as a single-day gathering at the Albany Riding Stables eventually expanded to a three-day event at Lake Snowden, garnering national attention along the way.

WOUB's Bryan Gibson talked with Chmiel (shown right) about the festival's origins, this year's pawpaw crop and the weekend's activities.

BG: How did you come up with the idea for the Ohio Pawpaw Festival?

CC: I was just hoping to get people excited and educated about pawpaws. I was inspired by other plant festivals I had been to, like the Ramps & Rails Festival in Elkins, W.Va., and the Pumpkin Festival in Circleville, Ohio.

I had plans of it growing into something big, but no idea how long or how much work it would take to get it to that level. I've strived to build a solid organizing team and to focus on visitor satisfaction. I think satisfied visitors have been our best form of advertisement.

BG: This year's spring and summer heat resulted in decreased fruit production. How has that affected the festival?

CC: The crop has just come a lot earlier than usual. We had an early start in spring and much of the fruit crop has already been harvested, due to the dry, hot weather. We still have fresh fruit, but not as much as say, last year's crop. That crop just started to ripen at festival time. Luckily, we've got some pawpaw friends coming from eastern West Virginia where they had a limited drought. Also, because we have so many pawpaws in our region, we have a lot of genetic diversity to draw upon, so we'll still have fresh fruit.

BG: What kind of workshops are planned for this weekend?

CC: We've got the pawpaw tent with the basic pawpaw presentations. The Ohio Country Fair tent has what I call a "Mother Earth News" feel to it. There are a broad range of topics, from beekeeping to sustainable energy for Athens County. The kids tent also has various workshops. I think we've got a little something for everyone.

BG: I was excited to see you've got Zydeco legend C.J. Chenier booked for Friday night.

CC: Junebug (aka Eric Leighton) booked all the music this year, and C.J. was something he worked on. We try and put our big music money into Friday evening. Several of the bands have some sort of personal connection to me and that's why they are there. For example, I went to high school with the drummer from The Maui Pranksters.

The Rain Crows are friends of Chef Dave Rudy, who has done our pawpaw cooking demos for many years. I like that we've got the two stages on Friday and Saturday to provide more musical opportunities. It's looking like this year's music lineup is our best yet.

BG: The pawpaw beer tent is certainly a popular festival attraction. What's on tap this time?

CC: I think we'll have our best pawpaw beer selections ever. Akron, Ohio's Thirsty Dog is a new brewery that will be there. Jackie O's will be making a pawpaw wheat modeled after Kelly Sauber's original ale from the Marietta Brewing Company. We'll also have some non-pawpaw beers from Classic Brands as well.

BG: What else can attendees expect?

CC: On Saturday, we've got "Paws at the Pawpaw." We used to allow dogs at the fest, but a few years ago, with the bigger crowds, we had a few problems and had to stop letting dogs in. So we worked with the Friends of the Shelter Dogs to come up with this compromise of a Saturday-only dog park. We'll see how it goes. It seems like many visitors enjoyed the tradition of bringing their dogs to the festival and were heartbroken when they couldn't bring them last year. It also looks like the weather will be working out for us this year, which is always a nice thing.

The Ohio Pawpaw Festival runs from 4 p.m. to 12 a.m. on Friday, 10 a.m. to 12 a.m. on Saturday and from 10 a.m. ­ to 4 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is $8 per day, $12 for a two-day pass or $14 for the weekend. Children aged 12 and under are admitted free. 

The Pawpaw Express, a free shuttle for students and community members that is sponsored by the Office of Sustainability at Ohio University, will run all three days. It departs from OU’s Baker Center in Athens.

For more information, including music and activity schedules, visit www.ohiopawpawfest.com.

Chris Chmiel photo credit: businessremixed.com

Pawpaw mascot photo credit: Andrea Gibson