“To me, Wassail Fest is one of the best things Columbus has,” said Kim Bennett, in the middle of decorating The Southern for one of the city’s premier holiday events. “It’s just fun. And it’s going to be interesting to be on the ‘other side’ this year.”
Bennett means that this Friday from 5-8 p.m. she will enter the ranks of wassailmakers for the first time. The Southern, a venue for social occasions, opened on Main Street in September and is a new participant in the annual event. In years past, Bennett has been among the cheerful crowd immersing itself in wassail-tasting at a host of downtown merchants, enjoying carolers, Christmas shopping and special activities. This year, she and her husband, Dr. Dan Bennett, become one of the merchants. They join 24 other businesses who are fine tuning their recipes for the storied drink served on the Feast of the Three Kings.
Chow.com tells us the word wassail is derived from the Anglo-Saxon toast “waes haeil” (or “be ye whole”). On Christmas, or Twelfth Night, English revelers would carry a large bowl from door to door, asking for it to be filled, a custom known as wassailing. The singing and drinking ritual was said to ensure a good cider apple harvest the following year.
Historically, the drink is a mulled cider made with sugar, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg, with apples or oranges floating in it. There are now numerous versions of wassail, some more “spirited” than others. The main qualities, however, are warmth, spice and some form of fruitiness.
Now in its 11th year, Wassail Fest brings out the creative juices of wassailmakers around town. There have been spiked wassails, wassail with ice cream in it and even frozen pop wassail.
“We tend to go more toward the sweet side; there are some wassails that are more bitter because they have cloves,” said Penny Bowen, owner of Bella Interiors and Penny Bowen Design. The shop’s recipe, developed by Diane Priebe, took top honors in 2013. Like fellow businesses, Bella appreciates the promotion of local merchants but also the Wassail Fest atmosphere.
“It’s my favorite time of the year, bar none. We all love it,” Bowen said. “Everybody’s so happy and just joyful. It truly to me is the beginning of the holiday giving season.”
People’s Choice
There is, of course, a title and trophy on the line Friday evening. “They’re vying for the coveted People’s Choice award,” said Barbara Bigelow, executive director of Main Street Columbus. “Shoppers will be able to cast their vote for their choice of best wassail.”
Chris Lick at the Grassroots Candle Co. enjoys the good-natured competition. December 2013 was the store’s first Wassail Fest.
“It was fantastic last year. We’d only been open about a week at that time and we had a ton of turnout,” he remarked. On Tuesday, Lick made a trip to Birmingham, Alabama, for organic wassail ingredients. He’ll soon clean and transform the big stainless steel vessel he normally makes candles in into a wassail vat.
Lick’s wife, Melissa Rushing, owns Bella Derma Organic Spa next door, so there’s an added layer of playful challenge when it comes to competing for the mantle of “best.” Nothing, however, supersedes their excitement of welcoming a new baby into the family this week.
Music and more
Singers and musicians are a part of Friday’s seasonal celebration. Among them will be Matt Warren and Bruce Johnson outside Grassroots and Bella Derma, the Suzuki Strings ensemble at The Dispatch, and carolers on the balcony of The Southern at 5:30, 6:30 and 7:30 p.m. A ticketed concert by Paul Brady, Alicia Harper, Bo Jeffares, Dale Robertson and Roger Truesdale begins at 8 p.m. at the Columbus Arts Council’s Rosenzweig Arts Center.
Magnolia Directory provides the chance to win a $100 gift certificate to the downtown store of your choice.
“All you have to do is bring your camera, take your picture enjoying Wassail Fest and post your picture on Magnolia Directory’s Facebook page,” Bigelow explained.
After Wassail Fest downtown, Mississippi University for Women continues the theme on its campus until 10 p.m., with carolers, children’s crafts, Santa and Miz Claus and more at Pohl Gymnasium. Tours of Stark Recreation Center are offered.
“Come out for this whole festive evening and make a memory not to be forgotten,” encouraged Bigelow.
For more information, contact Main Street Columbus, 662-328-6305.
Downtown merchants are keeping their wassail recipes close to the vest, but we share a couple below from Chef Alton Brown and Clinton Kelly of The Chew.
ALTON BROWN’S WASSAIL
6 small Fuji apples, cored
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup water
72 ounces ale
750 ml Madeira
10 whole cloves
10 whole allspice berries
1 cinnamon stick, 2-inches long
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
6 large eggs, separated
(Source: foodnetwork.com)
CLINTON KELLY’S APPLE CIDER WASSAIL
1 gallon apple cider
4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
4 Earl Grey tea bags
6 cinnamon sticks
1 teaspoon whole cloves
1 tablespoon juniper berries
2 inch piece of fresh ginger (cut into slices)
1 apple (sliced)
1 orange (sliced into rounds)
Brandy (to serve)
(Source: chew.com)
Jan Swoope is the Lifestyles Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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