Last week I briefly glanced at a tie-die sign dug into a patch of grass adjacent to the Baker Center that read ‘Paw Paw Festival.’ The term ‘Paw Paw’ sounded foreign to me so as I ascended up the Baker Center escalators, I came up with a two guesses as to what goes on at this festival.
Guess #1: The Paw Paw Festival celebrates the common southeastern Ohio bobcat. What better way to appreciate the importance of our beloved school mascot then to host an entire festival of bobcat related fun and games? While celebrating wildlife is a noble idea, however, the bobcat is a ferocious wild animal that probably shouldn’t be exposed to children (and adults).
Guess #2: On the more realistic side of my brain, I pictured the Paw Paw Festival as an outdoor community gathering, welcoming in the fall season. Hay rides, the fresh taste of pumpkin pie and beautiful weather in the Ohio Valley. Not a bad way to spend a Saturday morning.
The latter idea would make for an ideal beginning to the weekend . Yet, the thought of interacting with a live bobcat appealed to the adventuress side of my brain.
The only logical thing to do was to combine the two ideas in my head and walk to class while thinking of people sitting on a hayride watching a bobcat eat pumpkin pie. Now that’s the kind of culture I came to Ohio for.
Not an hour later. I learned that my English 284 class would in fact be taking a field trip to the Paw Paw Festival on Saturday. Just as I was mentally preparing to see my first live bobcat I was blindsided by the cold, hard truth: The Paw Paw is a native fruit of southern Ohio.
My friends called me crazy for agreeing to wake up at 9 a.m. on a Saturday for a festival celebrating a fruit most kids from Ohio have never heard of, let alone a New Yorker. Part of attending a university far from home is getting to experience a new culture.
After attending the Paw Paw Festival, I can say I learned more than just the culture of southern Ohio. I now know every step of the paw paw cultivation process from planting the tiny seeds to picking the ripe paw paws off the trees and slicing them open. Since I’m not much of a fruit eater I was surprised I liked the sweet mango, banana like taste of the paw paw. It’s not the most distinct taste in the world but the paw paw can be turned into some interesting creations like the sweet paw paw cream cheese that goes perfect with fried dough.
There’s an understandable enthusiasm for Ohio’s native fruit but the event is more about celebrating southern Ohio’s culture (unfortunately I didn’t come across a bobcat). I met farmers who take great pride in producing a rare fruit, a Native American who almost convinced me to buy a teepee and hippie that specializes in drum making. It wasn’t exactly the Saturday morning I was expecting but isn’t that what experiencing a new culture is all about?
I agree that things would have been enhanced by the presence of a bobcat. And interesting that you described it as tasting like mango. When I tasted it on its own, I kept thinking that it reminded me of mango but then I thought that maybe I was just crazy.
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