The last few days have been cold and windy and sometimes rain so we haven’t been out and about much but rather taking it easy at home.  But today turned out to be a beauty at around 70 degrees and sunny.

Dade City (population around 6,000) is near us and we learned they are having their annual Kumquat Festival today with arts & crafts, a big car show, farmer’s market, live entertainment and more. It was an easy drive and parking was free and easy on the outside of town.  Pink buses shuttled everyone to town.

For a small town this sure was a big festival! The whole downtown area including about 15 or more city blocks were blocked to traffic for all the festivities and there were thousands of people enjoying the day.

Shuttle Buses to the Kumquat Festival

Kumquats

Kumquat Pie

Historic Courthouse

Mini Donuts with Toppings

Exotic Pitcher Plants

Giant Ponderosa Lemons

Farmers Market

Kumquats

All things Kumquat at the festival:   Pie, wine, ice cream, shakes, sorbet, cookies, whoopie pies, jams, jellies, chutney, salsa, muffins, breads, cakes, marinades, dressings, and Kumquat honey and kumquat chicken salad, tea and beer. I may have missed some.

Kumquats resemble miniature oranges and the entire kumquat, including the thin peel, flesh, seeds and all, is edible. Just pop one in your mouth and chew it up like a grape. The peel is usually sweet and offsets the tartness of the flesh inside. There are different varieties, some more sweet and others more tart.  All are very nutritious. To use in recipes the seeds are removed and the kumquats are pureed.

Kumquats are unfamiliar to us Minnesotans, so we found the entire festival very interesting and fun!

• Gasoline Expense:  none
• Lodging Expense:   $25
• Admission Fees:      none