WEWOKA — They come for the syrup.
Each October, about 30,000 people come to Wewoka for the annual Sorghum Day Festival, which includes a 5k run, art and photography contests, a car show, a parade and a rodeo.
“There's all kinds of events going on there, all kinds of things,” said Dan Houser, a local grower. “But the main focus is making sorghum syrup.”
Houser has been involved in growing sorghum crops for about 30 of the festival's 37 years. The cane is planted in the spring and harvested in time for the autumn celebration, when it's crushed by a sorghum mill, releasing juice that runs into a large pan.
“The juice comes out of the mill,” Houser said, “and you boil it down until you get syrup.”
Reducing it to the desired consistency takes time. Transforming the plants into syrup can take three or four hours, he said — but it's worth it.
Once the syrup is done, you have a sweet treat to put on pancakes or biscuits.
At the festival, it's served on fry bread, making it even more decadent.
This year's gathering will be from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday with activities at and near the Seminole Nation Museum, 524 S Wewoka. The event is being hosted by the museum and the city of Wewoka's Chamber of Commerce.
According to a news release, the festival got its start when a Rotary Club member was seeking something to donate to the museum in 1975. He considered buying a buggy but got a better deal on a 75-year-old sorghum mill, which cost him just $100.
Claude Wright, museum co-founder and a fellow Rotarian, saw the gift as an opportunity to show people how molasses is made. The mill was refurbished and in 1976 — the festival's first year — produced more than 40 gallons of syrup. Now, the release notes, the museum sells 400 gallons or more each year as its major fundraiser.
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