On Oct. 25, the Lee County Historical Society hosted the annual Syrup Sopping Festival at Pioneer Park from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Held for over 50 years, the event features food, live music and pop-ups by small businesses in the area. Among these vendors were local businesses selling products like custom hydrographics and jewelry, while others were there on behalf of organizations.
The Auburn University Collegiate Cattlemen & Cattlewomen, an organization dedicated to encouraging beef production in Alabama, was one organization at the event. Joseph Ealum, sophomore in agricultural science and agriculture council representative, explains their purpose behind attending the event.
“It’s really to bring awareness to beef cattle in general and spread it to the young people, especially through the hats,” Ealum said. “Everyone loves the merch. We have the Cow College patent through the collegiate cattlemen’s club, so that’s a really big deal for us.”
For Lucille Westbrook, sophomore in agricultural science and a member of the organization, this year marks her first time attending the Syrup Sopping Festival. Westbrook explains what her experience has been so far, emphasizing the discussions she gets to have with visitors.
“I love talking to people and spreading our message out through the population, especially outside of the university,” Westbrook said.
The event also featured a variety of food options, something Auburn resident Janya Smith says she enjoyed most out of the festival. Specifically, Smith shared that the loaded fries and chicken were something she and Bailey Johnson, another attendee, enjoyed.
“Fun, family-friendly and overall good times,” Smith said when asked about the atmosphere of the event.
Smith also enjoyed learning more about the local small businesses set up at the festival, as it gives residents a chance to attend an event and meet vendors while avoiding the trip into town.
“A lot of people don’t want to travel into town. They’re scared of traffic,” Smith said. “So everybody pretty much lives around here, walking distance.”
Naked Kitty Hydrographics, a small business located in Chancellor, Alabama, was also in attendance. The business creates custom leatherwork, cutting boards and hydro dip artwork.
“Its been great. Turnout has been great. The people are fantastic. We’ve met a lot of students from the college,” owner John Gilley said. “That was really cool.”
John Gilley's booth features custom cups and cutting boards at the Syrup Sopping Festival on Oct. 25. at Pioneer Park
The concept behind Naked Kitty Hydrographics came from Gilley’s wife, who had been doing artwork on cups for around five to six years.
“I came in one day, and she said ‘I got a video for you to see.” I said okay, so she showed me a video of a guy hydro dipping. It was blowing my mind. I couldn’t figure out how it worked,” Gilley said. “So that day I ordered a DIY kit and I tried it, and about every third one looked pretty good but not great. So I ended up calling the guy that I watched on the video and I trained with him for a week in Missouri, so that’s how I got into it.”
Festivals are critical for helping small businesses, according to Gilley.
“For what we do, it’s about 80% of our income,” Gilley said.
Grace Boid, another attendee, explained that she liked the 3D printing booth the most out of the festival, as well as the corn truck that was available for children to enjoy.
Sepals and Tepals, another local business at the event, sells wearable sculptures handcrafted out of flowers and resin. Owner Rachel Jacobsen has been attending the Syrup Sopping Festival since she was a child, making the switch from visitor to vendor.
“I’ve been coming to syrup sopping ever since I was a kid, so I grew up here. It’s a very nostalgic festival for me, so I’m honored to be able to grow up and be a vendor here now,” Jacobsen said. “I was here last year, and this year is even better.”
Sepals and Tepals is named after two botany terms referring to parts of a flower. The choice in name stems from Jacobsen’s experience in the entomology and plant pathology department at Auburn University. Jacobsen shared that the name works as a way to honor that side of her career.
“I have two different kinds of jewelry. The first line is kind of, like, my craft jewelry,” Jacobsen said. “So I take dried flowers and paint them into two to three layers of UV resin, and so they’re basically flowers preserved in resin.”
Jacobsen’s other line of jewelry is similar to the first but goes a bit further by sculpting the resin-covered flowers into different shapes.
Jacobsen explained the most important part of her business, specifically at pop-up events like the Syrup Sopping Festival.
“I think the biggest takeaway with what I do, with my art and my craft, is people are always very surprised that they’re real flowers. So it makes me really happy to see people’s faces when they notice that they’re real flowers.”
The Syrup Sopping Festival will return next year, with more vendors and activities available for visitors to enjoy. For more information on the festival, visit the Lee County Historical Society website.
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