Even though it’s technically still spring, Memorial Day weekend just seems to be the launch of summer.    And what better way to celebrate than with ice cream?     Velvet Ice Cream in Utica (just 30 minutes away from the inn) has a great ice cream festival on the long weekend every year.   It features fun activities for all ages, with entertainment on the stages, a motorcycle show, music, magic, and what else but ICE CREAM.     Admission is free.   For more information and to see a schedule of events go to the festival website.

Guests enjoying the ice cream festival at Velvet Ice Cream

Velvet Ice Cream is open May to October, with an old-fashioned ice cream parlor, a viewing window to the factory where you can watch them make ice cream, and a milling and ice cream museum on the premises.   

There are lots of other fun activities to enjoy near to the inn on the long weekend and we still have a few rooms open,  so give us a call if you’d like to make a mini-vacation out of your trip.   740-599-6107

And if your path takes you to the ice cream festival this weekend, be sure to enjoy a Raspberry Fudge Cordial cone for me!

Showroom at Holmes County Pottery

Last week was kiln-opening time at Holmes County Pottery.   Ian and I just love pottery.   And at the workshop and store of local potter Cary Hulin we always find plenty of pieces we can’t live without.

Cary is a true artisan.   He built his large wood-fired kiln himself.   It took 10,000 bricks to complete that job.   He mixes his own clay and glazes, forms and decorates the pots, then supervises the firings.

The huge kiln needs 2 to 3 cords of hardwood slabs for one firing, and it takes Cary about 3 months to make enough pieces to fill it.      So the thrice-yearly kiln opening sales are much anticipated by his fans.

We had visited Cary a few weeks before the firing and he showed us a new design he was calling a Cobbler dish.    As soon as I saw them I knew I had to have at least one.    He took a round pot and pulled it to make a square-topped deep dish – perfect for a fruit cobbler or other baked dessert.    I was so glad we got up there early on the first day of the kiln-opening sale – Cary told us the cobbler dishes were selling like, well, to use another food analogy, hotcakes.     No wonder, they’re both beautiful to look at, and practical to use.

I brought home my new treasure and put it to almost immediate use, baking a berry crisp for dessert that weekend.      Sorry, the guests ate it all before I could get a photograph, but here’s a picture of the clean and empty dish.

Cobbler Dish from Holmes County Pottery

Holmes County Pottery is just one of artisans featured on the Pottery, Art and Artisans self-guided tour we give out to White Oak Inn guests.

Last Sunday we went to the 142nd annual GAR Bean Bake in Newcastle.   Newcastle is a tiny little town about 6 miles from the inn.      The annual GAR dinner (named for the Grand Army of the Republic) was originally started to raise funds for local widows and orphans from the Civil War.    142 years later, with all of the widows and orphans long deceased, the tradition continues, with the funds going to maintain the delightful little local park.

What a slice of local color.   It’s Newcastle’s social event of the season.   Everywhere you looked people were greeting old friends, and hugs and handshakes were the order of the day.   Many of the locals are the third and fourth generation of their families to live in the area.     All the food is donated and volunteers cook the beans in the original iron kettles from the Civil War, over woodburning fires.  All I can say is I felt very sorry for them slaving over hot coals when the temperature that day went well over 90 degrees.    We were more than content to sit in the shade and eat home-made ice cream and fry pies, while enjoying the musical entertainment provided by two local groups.

First on the program was Chestnut Ridge, playing bluegrass and gospel.   They’re very popular performers at local events.   They were followed by the Walhonding Rube Band, although there’s nothing “rube-like” about their  musical abilities.     Although they have a lot of fun during the performances, they take their music seriously, and it shows.     The band has been around since the 1930’s and again some of the members are the third generation of their family to play in the band.

And what’s a local festival without the crowning of a queen, or in this case, a king, since the band started running out of ladies to crown!

Almost every summer or fall weekend you’ll find little local festivals and events like this one in rural Ohio.     There’s always home-made food, local entertainment, and a feeling of coming home.        Come see for yourself.