Cheer your spear at Empire Asparagus Festival
Photo by Ashlea Walter
From staff reports
The 14th annual Empire Asparagus Festival is set for May 19-20 in the quaint village with a quirky spirit.
Festivities kick off on Friday with live music and a pig roast from 7-10 p.m. Dance, drink and be merry under the big tent downtown. The Traverse City-based funk, R&B and soul band Strobelite Honey will perform live, as you dine on delicious pig roast courtesy of Art’s Tavern. Entry fee is $5 per person, and free for children age 16 or younger. The pig roast is $11 per person.
On Saturday, the Kick Yer Ass-paragus 5K Fun Run starts at 10 a.m. (registration at 9) at the Empire Public Beach. Back in the village, the food and beer tent will be open from noon until 10 p.m. Entry fee is $5 per adult. Meanwhile, the Empire United Methodist Church will host an Arts Fair from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m., featuring local artisans. And the Empire Area Museum will open from 1 until 4 p.m.
The popular Asparagus Cook-off Recipe Contest is at noon. Due to the popularity of this event, the audience will be limited to the first 80 people in line. Visit EmpireChamber.com to download your recipe entry form. The Ode to Asparagus Poetry Competition follows at 2 p.m. The contest is open to all ages from youth to seniors. Send entries to info@GlenLakeLibrary.net and include the following information: name, age and contact information.
At 1:30 p.m., gather downtown for the Asparagus Parade, a caravan “so nice, it goes around twice!” Anyone is welcome to participate, but must salute asparagus. Eccentric entries are encouraged. Call Ashlea Walter for parade information at 231-883-8297 or by emailing besquirrely@gmail.com. Parade participants should begin lining up on Lake St. near the old Storm Orchard Barn at 1:15 p.m. A Children’s Magic Show with Gordon Russ will follow the parade at 3:30.
Catch music throughout Saturday. Andre Villoch & friends play from 1-3 p.m., Benjaman James plays from 5-7 p.m., and the Benzie Playboys jam from 7:30-9 p.m.
Asparagus Festival food vendors include Art’s Tavern, Deering’s Market, Hearth & Vine Black Star Farms, Kontiki Foods, Scalawags Fish & Chips, MI Grill (Baytown Kitchen), Norconk’s Fresh Asparagus, Pleva’s Meats, NJ’s Indian Kitchen and Rocco’s Old World Pizzeria. Kontiki’s paella, NJ’s Indian and Rocco’s pizza are all new, and culinary diverse, entries this year. Breweries and wineries at the festival include Acoustic Mead, Bel Lago Vineyards & Winery, Black Star Farms, Lake Ann Brewery, Laurentide Winery, Right Brain Brewery and St. Ambrose Cellars.
Finally, on Sunday, May 21, the Zonta Club of Leelanau County will hold a breakfast at the Township Hall from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. Entry fee is $10 per person, or $5 for children under 12. All proceeds benefit women and education in Leelanau County. The menu will include: scrambled eggs with cheese and asparagus; homemade asparagus muffins with butter; home-fried potatoes; sausages, juice and coffee.
The Empire Asparagus Festival is a certified zero waste event thanks to Bay Area Recycling. For more information, visit the Empire Chamber’s website.
