Heritage Day returns

People will be able to see cracklin’s cooked at the Living Heritage Day at Renaissance Park Dec. 12.

By By DEBORAH BUCKHALTER Floridan Staff Writer
Published: December 02, 2009

» 0 Comments | Post a Comment

Living Heritage Day at Renaissance Park will be held Dec. 12 from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m. Admission is free.
The event celebrates life as it existed near the turn of the 20th century in rural Jackson County.
A full crew of folk-life traditionalists will be on hand to demonstrate the skills that kept families alive and well in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s.
Renaissance Park owner Danny Sylvester said the volunteers will be grinding cane, making syrup, processing pork, blacksmithing, making lye soap and straw brooms, and cooking cracklin’ and other fare in cast iron pots over open flames.
Additionally, a crew will be toiling over a stove under an open-air shed to cook up a traditional Southern meal of collard greens, grilled chicken, fried cornbread and “motherland hash,” a dish served over rice. The secret recipe for this last side dish was handed down through the Sylvester family. Plates go for $6 each and include a beverage.
Old farm equipment will be on display, and entertainers will perform gospel music for the crowd throughout the day.
In addition to the food, fellowship and entertainment, children will have the chance to ride horses.
Sylvester said he’s grateful for the faithful volunteers who participate in the Living Heritage Day festival.
Most are seniors who have worked the festival all, or nearly all of the 14 years he’s hosted it. They come, even in years when the December weather is biting cold. He said he understands and appreciates that kind of commitment.
“They want to keep the tradition going, things they learned from their childhood,” Sylvester said. “It’s their hope, and my hope, that we have a number of young people each year who will pick up on the different techniques they use and then use it themselves.
“It’s all about the simple quality of life that we used to share at the turn of the century. They grew and prepared their own food, and they feel good about their Southern heritage and the survival skills that they have. Live wasn’t easy, and you really had to fend for yourself and your family to make it. They want to share that know-how with another generation.”
Sylvester said he hopes the festival continues to grow.
“Bring the entire family,” he said. “It will definitely be educational for kids, and for adults who have never experienced it.”
For more information, call Sylvester at 482-7497 or Leon Kelly at 209-4310.