Event: Cane Syrup Makin’ Day
Time: Saturday, Nov. 5, 2011, at 9 a.m. - 2 p.m
Event Type: Community Event
Location: Rikard's Mill-Beatrice
Event Website: www.tokillamockingbird.com
Sponsor: Monroe County Heritage Museum
Contact: Nathan Carter at (251) 575-7433
Info: The cool, crisp weather of Fall signals the arrival of Cane Syrup Makin’ Day down by Flat Creek in north Monroe County, Alabama. Travel to Rikard’s Mill, a restored 1845 grist mill, for a day filled with family fun. The morning of Saturday, November 5, will find mules Sunny, Stormy & Mac hitched to the cane press, sqeezing out every drop of juice from the freshly harvested sugar cane. This old-time tradition continues as the juice is then cooked down into thick sweet syrup, which will be for sale at around noon when it cooks off and is bottled. Warm biscuits and regionally made syrup will be available to whet your appetite while waiting.
Tour the mill building and watch as water turns stones in the old grist mill to grind corn into fresh cornmeal and grits, which also will be for sale. Sample fresh-boiled peanuts, lend a hand as demonstrators make old-fashioned tapered candles, and listen as the banjo maker demonstrates his craft. Also, our local blacksmith will be creating unique pieces from raw metals, an Alabama-native spinner will be demonstrating the use of the spinning wheel and woven cloth, and quilters will have their colorful creations on display and for purchase. Food vendors will be on site as well. Gates open at 9 a.m. and most activities will end around 2 p.m. Admission charged. Also visit the 5th Annual Monroe Sausage Festival in Beatrice.
Rikard's Mill is located between Monroeville and Camden on Hwy. 265, just north of Beatrice. For more information, contact the museum at (251) 575-7433 or mchm@frontiernet.net.