Keen on Georgia peaches

Crafted by Southern Hands series returns to Warehouse Row

Warehouse Row officials are planning a sweet celebration of summer with the return of the Crafted by Southern Hands series. Two Nashville businesses -- The Peach Truck and Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams -- will serve up delectable treats for three hours late Saturday afternoon, June 28.

The distinctly Southern event will feature fresh, handpicked Georgia peaches and a variety of peach-themed food and drink for all ages, along with live music and pony rides on the Warehouse Row lawn.

Launched last year, Crafted by Southern Hands spotlights makers of fine goods with a Southern focus. George Krauth, vice president and creative director of Jamestown, the company that owns Warehouse Row, describes the series as a way to "identify regionally crafted products and the storied traditions that live behind them."

IF YOU GO¦ What: Crafted by Southern Hands, featuring The Peach Truck and Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams.¦ When: 3-6 p.m. Saturday, June 28.¦ Where: Warehouse Row, 1110 Market St.¦ Admission: Free.¦ Phone: 423-267-1127.¦ Website: warehouserow.net, craftedbysouthernhands.com.SMALL TOWN PEACH TOURThe Peach Truck will make other stops in Tennessee during its summer tour. Its freestone (cling-free) Georgia peaches are sold only by the half-bushel (25-pound) box.¦ Cleveland: Tractor Supply Co., 2750 Keith St., NW -- June 30 and July 21, 9-10:30 a.m.¦ Crossville: The Feed Store, 928 Highway 70 East -- July 11 and Aug. 1, 2:30-4 p.m.¦ East Ridge: East Ridge Hardware, 5337 Ringgold Road -- June 30 and July 21, 2:30-4 p.m.¦ Manchester: Beans Creek Winery, 426 Ragsdale Road -- July 12 and Aug. 2, 8-9:30 p.m.¦ Ooltewah: Ace Hardware, 9231 Old Lee Highway -- June 30 and July 21, noon-1:30 p.m.¦ Tullahoma: Gondola House, 412 E. Carroll St. -- July 5 and July 26, 9-10:30 a.m.Source: thepeachtruck.com/pages/find-the-truck

The story of The Peach Truck began in 2010 when newlyweds Stephen and Jessica Rose realized, shortly after moving to Nashville, that tree-ripened, handpicked Georgia peaches were hard to come by in Middle Tennessee. So they traded their car for a 1964 Jeep Gladiator and started selling the fresh fruit by the bagful.

Their peaches are grown on the fifth-generation Pearson Farm in Crawford County, Ga., where they ripen naturally on the tree before they are handpicked and loaded onto the truck. During the peak season, from late June to early August, The Peach Truck sets out on its Small Town Tour, a farm-to-porch trek that travels through Tennessee, Kentucky and Ohio to bring one of the South's simplest summer pleasures to the masses.

"Every time my wife and I visit Chattanooga, we feel a natural connection to the city and recognize the effort being made by the community to connect with the outdoors and source local and regional food," says Stephen Rose. "It is a natural fit to bring The Peach Truck since many of our business practices coincide with the initiatives Chattanooga has worked to instill. Of course, we love a great Southern celebration, too."

Parked alongside The Peach Truck will be Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams, which opened its first Tennessee ice cream shop in Nashville in 2011. Jeni's has since expanded, serving its ice creams in six cities nationwide with a total of 12 scoop shop locations.

Jeni Bauer and her team of artisans, growers and producers create their ice cream, sorbet and frozen yogurt from the ground up with grass-grazed milk, local produce, American bean-to-bar chocolate and select ingredients from around the world. For Crafted by Southern Hands, Jeni's will collaborate with The Peach Truck to churn up a specialty peach-flavored ice cream.

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