Great Indoor Folk Festival ~ Feb 12, 2012
Empire Asparagus Festival – Third Weekend in May
The 8th Annual Empire Asparagus Festival will be held May 20-22, 2011 and features a slew of asparagus-themed events including a fun run (or walk), Asparagus Eats/Wine and Beer Tasting, Asparagus recipe contest, the Asparagus Parade, chalk art, music & dance and kids games. You can get all the details on the tasty eats and drinks below!
The Glen Arbor Sun has a nice report from the 2010 festival and you'll definitely want to check out this great feature by Susan Bayer Ward titled The Empire Strikes Back... With Asparagus that says (in part):
There's a reason Empire touts itself as the apex of asparagus-a vegetable whose short growing season begins in early May and flows into June. The area's sandy soil, plentitude of water and temperate microclimate-fostered by Lake Michigan, make this the perfect place to nurture wild and farmed asparagus. In fact, Michigan ranks third behind California and Washington as a producer of this commercial crop which garners the state a surprising $29 million annually.
Truth be told, only one local farmer, Harry Norconk, runs a 240-acre asparagus-growing business south of town. But what the heck, this slender green harbinger of spring grows wild all over the place. And while surrounding towns, for years, positioned themselves as prime purveyors of cherries, morel mushrooms and wines, Empire decided to become the Valhalla of that savory veggie-the asparagus.
There's also a writeup on the Asparagus Festival from the Traverse City CVB and Stalking Local Asparagus in Empire from MyNorth.com. Here's a link to an article on asparagus from Taste the Local Difference.
Asparagus Eats!
- Maybings Ethnic Organic Foods (Asparagus Crepes)
- Scalawags Fish & Chips (Fish & Chips with Asparagus Tarter Sauce)
- Stone House Bread (Asparagus Focaccia Soup in a Bread Bowl)
- Norconks Asparagus (Fresh & Pickled Asparagus)
- Empire Village Inn (Spring Asparagus Pizza)
- Gemmas Coffee Shop & Baked Goods (Asparagus Croissants & Asparagus Scones)
- Joes Friendly Tavern (Cream of Asparagus soup)
- Arts Tavern (Deep Fried Asparagus in Beer Batter)
- Deerings Market and Bakery (Asparagus Brats)
- BLU
- Trattoria Stella
- Phils On Front
- Leelanau Cheese
Beer, Wine & Beverages
- Right Brain Brewery (Asparagus Beer)
- Black Star Farms
- Forty-Five North Winery
- Acoustic Mead
- Great Lakes Tea & Spice
