We have had a busy Molasses Creek summer here on Ocracoke. The heat is on and figs are ripening quickly. Fiddler Dave and his household have been quickly picking and canning as much as possible. Gary Mitchell cycled up Howard Street for a video interview with him about making his famous Fig Muffins (recipe included). Check it out below.
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Molasses Creek tours to New Hope, PA in September
Molasses Creek will be traveling to play two dates at the Buck County Cabaret in New Hope, PA outside of Philadelphia on Friday, September 23rd & Saturday, Sept 24th. Click on the link below to find out more on how to get tickets to this dinner theater extravaganza! We hope to see you there!
Molasses Creek Shoots a "HOT" New Video for the People Get Ready Album.
Right after the close of this year's Ocrafolk Festival, we had yet another international film adventure with our friends Andrea Tani (of Florence, Italy), and Matt Mitchell (of North Carolina). On a toasty summer day in early June, the Molasses Creek crew loaded up various vehicles with costumes and props and set forth to the northern end of Ocracoke Island to shoot a video for the song, "You Go to Your Church and I'll Go to Mine." The baking sun was just working itself into the sky at 9 AM when we spilled out onto the beach to begin work.
Most videos are split between clips of musical performance and footage of a storyline that may or may not have anything to do with the song. The song, "You Go to Your Church, I'll Go to Mine" celebrates the common humanity that knits together our diverse cultures throughout this great world. In the storyline for our video, Gerald Hampton (in full suit and top hat) plays a wandering vagabond that plops down next to a graveside, out of which springs the rest of the Molasses Creek band to join him in a musical reverie. All we can say is that digging your own grave in the sand at 4 PM in the summer afternoon is a bonding experience. We'll let ya know when one goes live!
Join Fiddler Dave & Gary Mitchell for a Tutorial on Fig Muffin Baking
You too can become a Fig Muffin Master. Take a look at this video!
Shrimp boats at night in Ocracoke's Silver Lake Harbor
Hello Molasses Creek friends,
Summertime has come to a close and kids are back in school. The hot and humid weather continues on Ocracoke Island, making a dip in the warm Atlantic Ocean even more inviting!
Our weekly shows at Deepwater Theater run through the end of September, except for Thursday, September 18 when we will be driving across the state for a Friday residency and concert in Yadkinville with the Yadkin Arts Council. Join us on Wednesday nights presenting the Ocrafolk Opry and Thursday nights for a full Molasses Creek concert if you are coming to the island.
Fiddler Dave's father-in-law (Philip Howard-70 years) and son (Lachlan-10 years) celebrate their shared birthday on August 2nd.
The fall brings a bit of travel all over North Carolina and beyond, so we hope to see you out on the road these next couple of months.
The first annual Ocracoke Fig Festival was a great success!
For a special treat we have attached one of Fiddler Dave's commercials for the Pneumatic Fig Picker from this year's Ocrafolk Opry show. Enjoy!
Here is where we will be for the rest of the year! All the best!
Molasses Creek
Gary, Fiddler Dave, Marcy, Lou, & Gerald
September 21, 1 PM (Sunday) ~ Rooster's Wife @ the Poplar Knight Spot, Aberdeen, NC. 114 Knight St, Aberdeen, NC. The Rooster's Wife is a non-profit association organized to celebrate the performing arts in Aberdeen, North Carolina. They produce events year round, rain or shine. This is a listening house, folks. Absolutely no crowing during the shows. Concert hotline: (910) 944-7502, or email theroosterswife@ yahoo.com
September 27, 7:30 PM (Saturday) ~ Heathwood House Concert, Raleigh, NC. For information or a reservation for this very special evening in Raleigh, please contact Terry and Brenda Winebrenner at heathwoodhouseconcerts@ gmail.com
October 10, Time TBA (Friday) ~ Hatterasity Festival, Hatteras Civic Center, Buxton, NC. Molasses Creek will perform a two set concert on Friday evening at the festival. Details at http://www.hatterasitybluegrass.com
October 18, 11 AM (Saturday) ~ Outer Banks Seafood Festival, Nags Head, NC. Our third year returning to one of the most delicious events on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, celebrating great local seafood and culture! http://www.outerbanksseafoodfestival.org/
October 25, 1-3 PM (Saturday) ~ Bear Grass Chicken Mull Festival, Bear Grass, NC. This is the first annual Chicken Mull Festival in Bear Grass! For more information on what Chicken Mull and such visit their website at http://www.chickenmullfestival.com/
November 1, 8 PM (Saturday) ~ The Theatre at Washington, VA, 291 Gay Street. For information visit: www.theatre-washington-va.com or call 540.675.1253
November 9, 7:00 PM (Sunday) ~ Mountain Spirit Coffeehouse Series, Asheville, NC. Unitarian Universalist Church, 1 Edwin Place Asheville NC. One of the best listening rooms we have played at! Come on out! http://uuasheville.org/mountain-spirit-coffeehouse/
We've had some great shows on Ocracoke at Deepwater Theater these past two weeks! Wonderful audiences at the Ocrafolk Opry and Molasses Creek concerts. Although we are in the midst of summer, the weather has not hit dogs-days hot yet. And in spite of all the rain we have had this season the mosquitoes are remarkable tame (Fiddler Dave's son, Lachlan, managed to harness some this week and they pulled him around the beach on a sand sled!)
This last week, Molasses Creek began working in Gary's Soundside Studio on a song that Louie found called Choo Choo Ch'boogie by Louis Jordan. Here is an old black and white version of the song!
With that we are putting another old song that we found being done by the Boswell Sisters and Cab Calloway called Old Yazoo.
We hope to have the new arrangement live and on stage this next week.
Over the weekend, Gary is off to the Raleigh area to start work on tweaking the Festival Release 2013 to prepare it for national release later this year!
The most exciting new news is that Ocracoke figs are beginning to come in. Everyone is busy scurrying around gathering the quickly ripening fruit. The trees have to be checked every day, or the birds will claim the best of the crop! If it rains, then figs must be picked extra quick or they will go sour. There are around 7 different types of fig trees on Ocracoke Island. In our environment, the trees require very little care . . . they practically grow wild!
The fig tree at the Ocracoke Preservation Society
If you have ever picked figs, you will notice that the tree secretes a milky fluid that will give the picker a slight itchy rash . . . easily washed off and well worth the effort. Fiddler Dave and Lachlan have been checking the tree at the Ocracoke Preservation Society daily for Amy Howard (wife and the administrator for OPS). Today they took home between 5 & 10 pounds! They ferry the fruit back to Amy's mom, Julie Howard, who cooks them down with sugar to make preserves and cans them for keeping.
Not quite ripe yet!
These preserves then return to OPS for events and for sale at the store. Check the OPS website if you are headed to Ocracoke to find out what porch talks are being offered (there is one on figs and fig trees).
If you have picked up some fig preserves (or ordered a jar through the OPS gift shop), one of our favorite ways to use them is to make a traditional Ocracoke Island Fig Cake. Here is a recipe courtesy of the Ocrafolk Festival (this recipe was adapted by Debbie Wells and featured on the 2011 Ocrafolk Festival T-shirt). Fig Cake Recipe 3 large eggs 1 1/2 c sugar 1 c vegetable oil 2 c plain flour 1 tsp salt 1 tsp baking soda 1 tsp cinnamon 1 tsp ground allspice 1/2 c buttermilk 1 tsp vanilla extract 1 c walnuts coarsely chopped 2 c preserved figs cut up
Grease and flour one large tube or bundt pan Preheat oven to 350 In a medium mixing bowl, beat eggs until light and foamy. Add sugar and beat until pale, add oil slowly and beat another minute. Sift together flour, spices, salt and soda. Add to eggs alternately with buttermilk, beating well after each addition. Stir in figs, nuts and vanilla. Pour into prepared pan and place in a preheated oven. Bake for 45 minutes or until cake tests done with a toothpick. Cool in pan for 20 minutes then invert onto a rack and cool completely. Transfer to a serving plate and enjoy!
Fish Printing Fun!
Also this week at the OPS Museum, David Scott and Melinda Esham directed a fantastic fish printing session. Here are some photos.
That's about all we have for this post. If you are traveling to Ocracoke Island, come by for a show at Deepwater Theater. Wednesday nights are the Ocrafolk Opry and Thursday nights, Molasses Creek. Our next shows off the island are on August 18th in Washington & Greenville, NC. Here are the details!
Hey there friends,
