Saturday the temperature was
in the 90’s. So, what better to do than stand out in the sun, on the blacktop,
and eat deep fried foods?! That’s what I did. I went to the 4th
annual Athens Grease Festival in Athens,
Alabama. It is “a celebration of
all things fried” (and of the Greek origins of the town’s name).
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| "Pericles with Fried Chicken Leg" - Awesome! |
The festival takes place right on the courthouse square. It includes lots of live music (on three stages), kids’ activities, vendors, a toga contest, an eating contest, and a “most outrageous food” contest.
There is a $5 admission fee
(proceeds go to downtown revitalization efforts), but if you wear a toga you
get $1 off. I was raised by a Cheap Engineer; I became a Cheap Engineer myself;
and I married a Cheap Engineer – so, of course, I found a white sheet in my
linen closet and wore a toga to get my $1 discount. Unfortunately, wearing a
bulky toga, on top of clothing, in 90+ degree temperatures is not very
comfortable! I eventually put it back in my car (nearby parking was easy to
find – although I expect it is more crowded when it is not so hot out).
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I took my photo while checking out the
historic UG White store on the square. |
There were a lot of simple
sheet-togas like mine (and I saw one kid wearing a pillow case). There were
also togas that people put a lot more work into.
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| I don't think this girl was enjoying the heat! |
The festivities began with a
small parade and then opening ceremonies with Athena-Grease Goddess and her court. Athena is chosen, by a panel
of judges, from a group of women nominated for their volunteer efforts in
enhancing the quality of life in Athens.
The court is made up of the other nominees.
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Coolbone Jazz Band led the parade.
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Athena-Grease Goddess and the Mayor of Athens
"Eat responsibly the other 364 days." |
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| Athena's court |
I was not at all hungry in that heat but I was determined to try some interesting fried food. I have a very limited variety of plain foods that I like to eat, but I am happy to try something odd just so I can say I tried it (such as bird’s nest soup in Thailand – the birds stick the nest together with their spit!). I have never eaten alligator so I went straight for the alligator tail from the Big Easy food truck. The spicy breading and sauce were great. When I could actually taste a bit of the chewy alligator it tasted fishy/salty. Later, I tried fried artichoke from another vendor. I thought it was pretty good since I like artichokes.
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| Deep fried alligator tail |
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| Deep fried artichoke |
The historic courthouse
square is full of interesting buildings and shops.
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| High Cotton Arts Center is a non-profit arts
incubator with affordable work space for artists and educational opportunities
for emerging artists and art lovers.
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| More shops just off the square |
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| UG White with LuVici's southern food restaurant next door |
There is so much to see and do in Athens that I’ll have to devote more blog posts to it in the future. It is such a charming little town, and it’s just 40 minutes from downtown Huntsville.
“Toga, Toga, Toga!”
