Park is holding outdoor events

Outdoor enthusiasts will find plenty of events this month at Mistletoe State Park in Appling, including a red clay contest, wild gourmet dinner and wildlife showcase next weekend.

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"The red clay contest is just something that popped out of my head when I was trying to come up with ideas for programs," said Marilyn Grau, the senior corps project director for The Senior Citizens Council and organizer of park programs.

"The park has tons of red clay, and we use it to wrap potatoes to bake in the fireplace for our Creative Camp Cooking program. So I just thought, 'Why not play in it?' " she said.

The contest will be Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon at the park's assembly shelter.

Seasonal Naturalist Debbie Wiggington has arranged for a wildlife showcase to be on display later that day from 3-5 p.m. at the Beach House. Grau said the display is a natural history museum on wheels.

To round out the weekend, the park will hold its quarterly wild gourmet dinner 2 p.m. July 19 at the Beach House.

"There are about four of us who try to form a core group that comes regularly," said Grau. "What we eat largely depends on the season and we experiment and learn how to cook different things as we go."

Grau said past menus have included grasshopper cheese balls, snapping turtle stroganoff, smothered alligator rounds, squirrel stew, wood duck with wild rice, venison stew, dandelion pesto and stuffed kudzu leaves. Desserts have included wild berry and muscadine cobblers and elderberry pie.

"Someone has promised me a rabbit, and if that materializes, I plan to make a rabbit pot pie," said Grau.

For information, call the park office at (706) 541-0321.