I don’t remember which I fell in love with first — pawpaws or the Ohio Pawpaw Festival. But since I likely tasted pawpaws for the first time during my initial visit to the festival, I likely fell in love with both of them simultaneously. It’s no exaggeration to say I was in a state of bliss from my very first bite into a ripe pawpaw. Its flavor — kind of a mixture of banana and mango with just a hint of vanilla, all blended together in a custard-like consistency —is nothing short of sublime. True, pawpaws are not much to look at visually. They’re kind of lumpy and misshapen and they’re filled with huge lima-bean sized seeds. And unfortunately, they spoil quickly and don’t travel well, which makes them unlikely to be appearing on supermarket shelves anytime soon. But that’s all the more reason to go to the Ohio Pawpaw Festival that’s celebrating its 28th year in 2026.

This year’s event will be held Sept. 18–20 at a new venue, Snow Fork Event Center outside Nelsonville. There’s a full lineup of food trucks, vendors selling handmade crafts and educational seminars focusing on topics like pawpaw cultivation, edible native plants, butterfly conservation, sustainability and other nature-based topics. Activities for children and a stellar line up of live musicians, not to mention square dancing, add even more fun to the weekend. 

And, of course, there will be ample opportunities to taste pawpaws, both the fruit itself and foods prepared from it. In fact, the food vendors are all required to offer at least one dish prepared with pawpaws. So, visitors can expect to sample pawpaw ice cream, cream puffs, pancakes, doughnuts and even savory dishes like barbecue chicken and Thai noodles prepared with pawpaws. There will even be several varieties of pawpaw beer on hand. 

I always look forward to the Pawpaw Cook Off competition, where folks enter home-made concoctions in four different categories — Sauces/Condiments, Beverages, Savories, and Sweets/Desserts. In the past, creative chefs have submitted entries like pawpaw guacamole and a pawpaw colada beverage. I even remember a pawpaw pizza being entered one year. Best of all, when the judges have completed their tastings, the spectators get to sample the leftovers. 

Cooking with Pawpaws
This year, I decided to try some pawpaw cooking of my own in advance of the festival. But since it was summertime and pawpaws in Ohio weren’t ripe yet, I got some frozen pawpaw pulp available at Athens’ Integration Acres, which also sells products like pawpaw spiceberry jam and pawpaw fudge as well as pawpaw seeds and trees along with locally foraged crops like black walnuts and ramps. 

Integration Acres’ owner, Chris Chmiel, is well-known throughout the country as a pawpaw promoter and enthusiast. He’s both the creator and operator of the Ohio Pawpaw Festival, and in 2009 he successfully lobbied the Ohio state legislature to adopt pawpaws as the officially designated state native fruit. I met Chris and purchased pawpaw pulp at his booth at the Athens Farmers Market, but I also could have made the purchase online and had the pulp shipped to me. Of course, then I wouldn’t have gotten to spend the day in Athens — one of my favorite spots. Not knowing how much I’d need, I purchased two packages, which turned out to be plentiful. 

First, I made Pawpaw Panna Cotta, an Italian dessert that turned out to be surprisingly simple to make. I had enough of the pulp left to make a second dish, so I tackled Pawpaw Crème Brulée, which was a bit trickier to prepare. Somehow, I had beginner’s luck with the final product turning out perfectly and the pawpaw flavor shining through. 

Unbelievably, I still had about a cup of pulp remaining, so I tried my hand at making Pawpaw Chicken Salad. I just used plain old mayonnaise, mixing in some celery, grapes, scallions, and slivered almonds. The results were delish, if I do say so myself. 

Mushrooms Up Next
While I was at the Athens Farmers Market, I also stopped by a booth for Soulshine Earth Forest Farm, a purveyor of organic forest-farmed mushrooms, and a flyer for the upcoming Fall Fungi Festival caught my eye. Scheduled for Oct. 17–18 at Tenderfoot Learning Lab outside Athens, the festival is described as a “celebration of all things mycelial.” Activities include foraging and identification hikes with mushroom guides, mushroom dehydration and cooking demos, mushroom crafts, live music and overnight camping. I plan to attend. After all, who knows what culinary adventures I can have with the wild mushrooms I forage?

Author: Rich Warren

Ohio writer Rich Warren has traveled the world in writing for publications like the Chicago Tribune, Dallas Morning News, Cleveland Plain Dealer, National Geographic Traveler and Fodors. There’s nothing he loves more than exploring Ohio and seeking out the state’s unique festivals and attractions.