Wild about Rice Festival
Lake Superior Estuarium on Barker’s Island
#LSN_Outdoors #LSN_UofW Little Pokegama Bay Amy Elliot
SUPERIOR, WISCONSIN. – September 24, 2018 (LSN) A free community celebration of wild rice is being held on Saturday, September 29, from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. at the Lake Superior Estuarium on Barker’s Island in Superior. The public is invited to learn about, taste, cook and practice harvesting this unique regional wild food. Events for the whole family include a puppet show produced by staff at Fond du Lac Resource Management, informational talks, and a handmade traditional birch bark canoe on display from the Fond du Lac Reservation.
At 11:30 a.m., Jeff Savage, director of the Fond du Lac Cultural Center and Museum, will demonstrate making and cooking with wild rice flour.
At 2 p.m. staff from the Duluth Grill will host a cooking demonstration that will include a vegetarian and a sausage wild rice dish.
Lake Superior Estuarium on Barker’s Island
Speakers throughout the day include University of Minnesota Duluth ecologist and researcher John Pastor speaking at 3 p.m. about threats to wild rice in our region. Amy Eliot, a scientist with the Lake Superior Research Institute, will describe the wild rice restoration efforts in Allouez Bay, near Wisconsin Point. At 4 p.m., students from the University of Minnesota Lilah White and McKaylee Duquain will speak about the cultural importance of wild rice and their research on the plant. The 1854 Treaty Authority and Friends of the Lake Superior Reserve will also have informational tables.
Wild rice, known in Ojibwe as manoomin, is found only in the Upper Midwest and southern Ontario. Typically harvested between August and September, this unique grain originally drew people to the Western Lake Superior region and continues to be an important food source today.
The Wild about Rice Festival is sponsored by the Wisconsin Coastal Program and the Lake Superior National Estuarine Research Reserve. The Reserve, jointly operated by UW-Extension and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and based at the University of Wisconsin-Superior, encompasses over 16,000 acres along the St. Louis River freshwater estuary.
More information can be found at lakesuperiorreserve.org.
