2013 Black Gold Jubilee, Belle Glade, Fla.

The Black Gold Jubilee celebrates the rich black soil around Belle Glade, Florida. The April 13th festivities started at 7:45 am with a 5K run/walk and ended with nighttime fireworks. There was a Green Market this year featuring locally grown products in a farmers market, and cooking contest.

Mary Orsenigo, Sara Phillips, and Maud Vereen of
Belle Glade Chamber of Commerce Tent, 2013 Black
Gold Jubilee, Belle Glade, Fla.

A happy bunch of Belle Glade Chamber of Commerce volunteers worked the Farmers Market tent. They were selling Florida grown produce like romaine, tomatoes, yellow zucchini, cabbage, carrots, cilantro, and rice.

Mary Orsenigo said, "My son, Paul, grew the romaine, cilantro, and lettuce."

The farmers that contributed to the tent were: Sugar Cane Growers Cooperative, Duda Farm Fresh Foods, TKM Bengard Farms, Orsenigo Farms, Growers Management, Sem Chi Rice, and Florida Crystals.

Proceeds of the tent went to the Belle Glade Chamber of Commerce.

Cooking contest judges trying dishes that required corn,
2013 Black Gold Jubilee, Belle Glade, Fla.

The cooking contest was broken into two divisions both with a mandatory ingredient of either sugar or corn. Cheryl Stein, whose family came to Belle Glade in 1918, organized the event.

Pineapple corn muffins, 2013 Black Gold Jubilee, Belle
Glade, Fla.

One of the corn dishes had delicious tangy flavor--Pineapple Corn muffins, baked by First Place winner Sarah Mielke.

There was also corn-on-the cob served in a surprising way. It was wrapped in bacon, dipped in batter, and deep fried.

Overall it was a tasty, locally sourced day, and well worth the hour drive from West Palm Beach.

Check out their FaceBook page to learn more details of the day:

https://www.facebook.com/blackgoldjubilee#!/blackgoldjubilee