If you've never eaten a ramp - or even know what one is - make a day-trip to Reliance, Tenn., this weekend.
The annual Polk County Tennessee Ramp Tramp Festival will be held Friday-Saturday, April 21-22, at Camp McCroy, 1058 Highway 30 in Reliance.
A ramp, or wild leek, is a wild onion native to North America. The word is a derivative of "rams," an Elizabethan version of wild garlic - and the flavor and odor of ramps is comparable.
In 1958, the Polk County 4-H Club started an event during which club members and friends would "tramp" into the wilds of Big Frog Mountain for a hike and ramp meal. The spirit of that event lives on in the festival now held at Camp McCroy on the fourth Saturday of every April.
After digging the ramps out of the ground earlier this week, volunteers will clean them Friday, April 21, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. CDT. At 7 p.m. Friday, the festival will kick off with Bluegrass and Beans. Visitors can enjoy gospel and bluegrass music while consuming a bowl of white beans, cornbread and raw ramps.
On festival day, Saturday, April 22, gates open at 10 a.m. CDT.
From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., a traditional ramp meal will be served: fried ramps in eggs, fried potatoes, meat, white beans and cornbread.
There will be crafters, buck dancers and cloggers, and door prizes given away throughout the day.
Camp McCroy is located near Benton, Tenn. Turn off Highway 64 onto Highway 30, and the camp will be 2.5 miles ahead on the right.
For more information: 423-338-4503.