Eat Like a Pilgrim @ Thanksgiving Point

by Ted Scheffler

Posted // 2010-11-20 -

Thanksgiving Point in Lehi will host its annual "Eat Like a Pilgrim" feast and festivities on Nov. 19, 20 and 22 in the Thanksgiving Point Show Barn. Guests of all ages are invited to the unique, hands-on celebration that will take guests back in time to experience authentic food and reenactment of the 17th century. Historical figures will help transport guests into early America through authentic harvest fare, décor and ambience. Actors from the Colonial Heritage Foundation will portray influential figures from the era including Governor William Bradford, William Brewster and Edward Winslow.

At dinner, guests can expect a traditional pilgrim-like table setting with the option to use a spoon, knife or hands to eat. Each place setting will have a 3-foot square napkin to place over the shoulder as a hand wipe. Items on this year's menu include roasted turkey, roasted pork, corn pudding, stewed pumpkins and homemade bread, with mixed-berry cobbler for dessert. To add to the authenticity of the dining experience, warm goat's milk, duck and raw oysters will be available for tasting. Hmmm.... warm goat's milk????

To help capture the pilgrim mood, the Thanksgiving Point Show Barn will be filled with indoor displays and live farm animals, including a milk cow, goats and turkeys. Guests are invited to interact with the animals and participate in a variety of activities, crafts and period games.

Doors will open at 5:30 p.m., and dinner begins at 6 p.m. Tickets bought in advance are $25 for adults, $15 for children ages 3-12 and free for children age 2 and under seated on laps. Tickets the day of the event are $30 for adults and $20 for children. For more information, click here.

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REPLY TO THIS COMMENT

RSchiffman

Posted // November 20,2010 at 15:32

Hmmm. They were almost out of sugar and didn't make sweets. They had no oven, so there was no roasted anything, or yeast bread. There was venison and some fowl, but no turkey or pork. So it appears the stewed pumpkin is the only item they are serving that is likely to have been at the festival. That, and they have oysters, but that's listed as though it's a special gross thing you can try. It doesn't sound particularly "authentic". Although, we like to think overcooked chicken/turkey white meat eaten with fingers is authentic everything whether it's the first thanksgiving or a medieval jousting match. At least one things correct, this was the first and only dry Thanksgiving. Half the celebration was they grew enough grain for beer the next year.

BlackMamba

Posted // November 22,2010 at 08:05 - This is like most Holloywood movie plots these days, RS, if you think about it too long and deeply, you'll realize what is being presented is either not logical or real. This from a blog on Thnaksgiving: "You may be surprised to learn that some of the foods that are traditional Thanksgiving fare were not available for the Pilgrim’s celebration. They may have had cranberries, but they didn’t have sugar to make sauce. Sweet potatoes or yams were not common to the area, much less white potatoes. Pumpkin pie recipes did not exist at the time, and there were no proper ovens to bake pastries, anyway. Any milk or cheese had to have come from goats, as the Pilgrims did not bring cows with them from England. Seafood was most certainly on the menu, including lobster, crabs, fish, eel, and even seal meat. There were also dried cranberries, loganberries, bluberries, cherries, grapes, and plums. The colonists’ company only had four married women and five adolescent girls after the first devastating winter. When trying to reconstruct the Thanksgiving feast, you have to consider what those few cooks were able to accomplish for 150 hungry celebrants. The venison was probably roasted over fires, which would be a manly task as it is today. The fowl were more likely stewed in cauldrons, along with dried vegetables. Some fruits, nuts, and sweets in season could be served raw, saving time and labor." On the other hand, they are going to serve goat's milk, so that part of then menu is authentic.

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Eat Like a Pilgrim @ Thanksgiving Point