News - Local

Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2009

Eat wild on the river this weekend

MOSS POINT — The Pascagoula River Audubon Center and the nonprofit group Edible Gulf Coast are hosting a Wild Foods Festival on Saturday at the nature center along the river, just north of Interstate 10.

There will be public demonstrations from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. on butchering and cooking wild hog, harvesting honey and making cane syrup. At 4 p.m. there will be a fundraising feast of wild hog, kudzu, pigeon and other wild animals and plants considered exotic, or not native to the area. Tickets for the feast are $35 each or $60 for a couple. The money will help support the work of the organizations.

Mark LaSalle, Audubon Center director, joked that feasting on non-native species, or “critters that don’t belong here,” is a way to help clean up the river system.

Two years ago the groups held Buffet on the Bayou and cooked native plants and animals including crab, cattails and alligator.

Edible Gulf Coast is an educational organization dedicated to promoting and celebrating food traditions of the Mississippi and Alabama coasts.

The Audubon Center promotes education about and enjoyment of the Pascagoula River.

The Wild Foods Feast will be an expert blend of ingredients by chefs, including David Romines, director of Food & Beverage, Columbia Sussex, and Chef Jay Altman of Farradays in the Isle of Capri Casino.

For tickets, call the Audubon Center at 475-0825.