Southport Globe Onion Festival Set For Oct. 9

Press release from Pequot Library:

Sept. 22, 2022

Sefra Alexandra (a.k.a. “The Seed Huntress”), the Sausquanaug Association and Pequot Library proudly unveil the October 9th Southport Globe Onion Festival, which will run at the Library from 5 to 7:30 p.m. and is produced in conjunction with the Library’s The Lure of the Garden exhibition. Our intention is to celebrate and honor the return of the once-prolific allium heirloom to our local soils through a variety of free and family-friendly activities.

Kicking off the Festival, guests can either follow longtime Pequot Library Board Member Richard “Deej” Webb on a walking tour of onion cultivation, storage at a former onion warehouse site and transportation from Southport Harbor, or stay with The Seed Huntress for a seed collection walk at Aspetuck Land Trust’s Native Seed Garden facing the Library on Westway Road.

Upon returning, we will peel back the onion with a bevy of lawn games, including Onion in Spoon races, and with art projects such as Onion Ink Prints. We’ll enjoy delicious onion hors d'oeuvres from local restaurants, a bonfire, and a School Of Rock concert and also hold a not-to-be-missed inaugural “Onion Drop” to celebrate the official naming of “Onion Day” as we greet a full moon.

Per Alexandra’s website (seedhuntress.com): “Southport was once considered the ‘Onion Capital of the World,’ with over 200,000 barrels of onions were shipped on sloop sailboats each year from 1840-1890 to the New York City Markets. Prized for their taste, storage-ability and high levels of vitamin C, they were a staple of the Union Navy during the Civil War to prevent scurvy and the Union Army to treat gangrenous wounds.” Our seaside village was world famous for our quality of seed, caliber of crop and onion tool cultivation innovations. Let’s join together and celebrate our agrarian heritage and this humble bulb.

This press release was produced by Pequot Library. The views expressed here are the author's own.