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05/21/2006
What's long, green and adored in Empire?
Linda Payment got into the spirit of the Asparagus Festival in Empire by dressing up in a wild wig, long green eyelashes and a painted face. EMPIRE — An asparagus couldn't wish for a more spirited party. At the third annual Empire Asparagus Festival, the veggie's devotees deep-fried the green spear, stuffed it in bratwurst and dished it out in ice cream. Attired in asparagus costumes, they donned green beehive wigs and composed poems to the pointy, flavorful spear. "It's a great reason to celebrate after a long winter," said Ashlea Walter, festival organizer. Walter wore a small silver asparagus pin while serving up ice cream with asparagus puree. Later, she topped off the look with a two-foot-plus hat shaped like an asparagus spear. The green-themed festivities were enjoyed by many others who joined the celebration in Empire, on the Lake Michigan shoreline in western Leelanau County, where the revelry continues from 2 to 7 p.m. today with a barbecue at The Village Inn. "We loved the asparagus," said Connie Andres. She was with a party of sisters and sisters-in-law who planned a get-away together and ended up at the festival. A few minutes before the 2 p.m. parade, spectators lined Front Street, spread blankets and set up lawn chairs near the town hall. A group of children squealed and tossed asparagus spears into the air when the parade's first fire engine alarms sounded. Two women posed for a picture, a spear brandished in one hand. An asparagus-on-a-bike whirled by with green streamers flowing in the wind. A remote-control car zipped by pulling a box full of spears. It was a short parade. "Twice-around town," one observer commented. Judy Granger, who sat behind a table full of T-shirts, posters and poetry books, had one of the best views of the parade. She said the festival appeared to be a success. Granger heard there were more than double the number of participants in this year's foot race — the "5K Kick Ass-paragus Fun Run/Walk." Other events were a hit, too. "Forty gallons of soup, gone," she reported. Claire Murray, 7, and Sierra Klein, age "seven-and-a-half," decorated their bikes in green and planned to ride in the asparagus parade for the third time. But for these vegetable processional veterans one of the best parts of the festival was the chance to make a little green at their lemonade stand. But what to buy with their earnings? Not asparagus ice cream, said one of the little entrepreneurs, emphatically. She wrinkled up her nose: "Eeck."
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