The first annual Southern Foodways Symposium will be held at Barnard Observatory May 1-3, 1998. This event, hosted by the Center and Continuing Studies and sponsored by Bryan Foods, Viking Range, Ellen Rolfes Books, and Mississippi Madness with supporting sponsorship from the American Institute of Wine and Food, will bring culinary historians, anthropologists, chefs, and passionate advocates of regional foods to the University for three days of lectures, tastings, and performances. This inaugural event will provide an exciting opportunity for curious cooks and gourmands alike to better appreciate the culture and foodways of the American South.

Among the scheduled speakers are journalist John Egerton, writer of the seminal work Southern Food: At Home, on the Road, in History; culinary historian Jessica Harris, author of Iron Pots and Wooden Spoons: Africa's Gifts to New World Cooking and the forthcoming Nyam! The Food of African-Americans; and journalist Richard Schweid, writer of Catfish and the Delta: Confederate Fish Farming in the Mississippi Delta and Hot Peppers: Cajuns and Capsicum in New Iberia, Louisiana.

Augmenting the impressive list of speakers will be a series of informal lunches held in the tree-shrouded grove at the center of the Ole Miss campus. Featuring Southern specialties like golden-fried catfish and smoke-infused pork barbecue, these meals will afford attendees a wonderful opportunity to interact with the speakers. Evening events include a private dinner party at Oxford's own City Grocery and a reading by Norma Jean Darden from her Broadway play, Spoonbread and Strawberry Wine. Regional product tastings and book signings will also be featured. The weekend festivities will close with brunch served in the grove as a gospel choir performs.

Registration, priced at $195 for the entire symposium, is being handled by Charlene Dye. Contact her at Center for Continuing Studies and Public Service, P.O. Box 879, University, MS 38677; by phone at 601-232-1047; or via e-mail at cdye@olemiss.edu. For further information about the program, contact the symposium organizer, John T. Edge, at 601-236-7803 or at johnt@dixie-net.com.

John T. Edge