Wild Edibles Festival

On April 19^th, the third annual Wild Edibles Festival will take place at the Hillsboro Library. This day of free workshops and walking tours is a chance to learn about the benefits and wonders of the plants that grow in Pocahontas County.

Mary Dawson, one of the event coordinators, says the festival will be much bigger this year, with numerous programs to choose from in the morning and afternoon.

“We’ll have about seventeen different workshops. We’ll be cooking with ramps, garlic mustard, wild ginger, lots of different greens, Japanese knotweed; and we’ll have walks all around Hillsboro just to identify wild edible plants.”

Event registration and a silent auction will be available from 9-10 in the Hillsboro Elementary School Cafeteria. Morning workshops and walks will begin at 10, and afternoon sessions will start at 1. Then at 4:00, there will be a Kimchi workshop, where participants will learn how to make the Korean dish using ramps. The festival will end with a potluck supper at the Hillsboro Library.

“It’s a community event. We have lots of volunteers. We have twenty instructors and walk leaders, and lots of people helping to put it together.”

The Wild Edibles Festival is sponsored by the Friends of the Library and the Pocahontas Nature Club. The event is a collaboration between local groups, businesses, and artists, with the chance to purchase lunch from the Pretty Penny Café and My Daughter’s Attic and listen to live music by Paolo and Erica Marks.

From ramp dishes to wildflower teas, the Wild Edibles Festival is a free opportunity to gain understanding and appreciation for the things that grow in our community. For more information or to sign up, contact Mary at ssmpdawson@gmail.com or by calling 304-799-4766.

“Wild edibles are all around us and full of nutrition and easy to get, and we’d like to have people know what to do with them once they pick them. How to cook them, how to prepare them, how to store them. So that’s one thing that drives us and makes us want to do this every year.”