Be sure to turn up for Eastham's Turnip Festival

EASTHAM ― Turnips forever! That may as well be the motto Marianne Sinopoli and her Team Turnip are living by in the days leading up to the town’s annual Turnip Festival on Nov. 19.

Since 2003, Eastham has been celebrating the sweet root vegetable, spreading good cheer and expounding on the qualities of the Eastham turnip.

Not to be confused with 30 other turnip varieties, the Eastham turnip is an heirloom, its seeds passed down through the generations. It’s also an open-pollinated varietal, which means the seeds formed by the fertilized flowers produce the same plant the following year.

The sweet, sandy soil is what turnip champion and aficionada Arthur Nickerson gave as the reason for their sweetness in a 2009 Edible Cape Cod article by Ellen Petry Whelan. Nickerson was 12 years old when he started growing turnips. He was 92 when he died. In those intervening years Nickerson collected Eastham turnip seeds. Some give him credit for maintaining the heirloom, Petry wrote.

This year's festival promises tasty turnip dishes, turnip-related family activities, and a blessing of the turnips. A free concert will be held at Chapel in the Pines near Eastham Public Library. A virtual holiday marketplace will feature items by local artists, craftsmen, farmers, artisans and small business owners.

The library will host “Turn Up for Fun,” with an emphasis on children's entertainment. Live juggling and balloons and magic shows are scheduled. A face painter, balloon twister, and henna artist who has designed turnip designs will be on hand. Kids can get temporary turnip tattoos.

The library will have “Make and Take” turnip crafts for children. They will be able to decorate tiles for trivets and coasters. They can make a Mr. or Ms. Turnip Head, a play on the Potato Head toy of old. A selection of large games will be available for young and young-at-heart in the reading garden: a “turnip-hole” rather than a cornhole, with bean bags shaped like turnips. Turnip bowling and ring toss games will also be available.

Eastham Turnips will be available at the Orleans Farmers Market on Old Colony Road. Local Eastham farmers will be on site from 9 a.m. to noon selling their turnips. In years past, thousands of pounds of the Eastham variety sold out before the event was over, Sinopoli said.

A turnip cook-off and sampling event – one of the festivals most popular activities pre-COVID – can't be held this year because of renovations at the high school. There wasn’t another suitable location for the event that drew hundreds of taste-testers, Sinopoli said

Local author Kathryn Kleekamp will sign copies of her book “Celebrating Cape Cod & the Islands ~ Traditions, Festivals and Food” which features a chapter on Eastham’s annual Turnip Festival.

Cathy Hatch and the Cape Cod Ukulele Club will present “Turn Up for Tunes,” a free concert at Chapel in the Pines. Some songs have been rewritten with turnip lyrics and verses.

“They have a quirky sense of humor,” Sinopoli said.

Twenty-six local eateries are scheduled to feature turnip on their menus. There is something for everyone, including turnip curry raisin scallion pancakes, turnip latkes with apple butter, crab and turnip Rangoon, roasted turnip pizza, turnip and sweet potato croquettes, stuffed turnip croissants, roasted turnip sandwiches and turnip and kale mac and cheese.

The festival originated in 2003, the brainchild of Tricia Ford who was the assistant director of the Eastham Public Library. Sinopoli took over as chair of the event 10 years ago.

Many Cape towns have annual festivals such as Brewster in Bloom, Wellfleet’s OysterFest, Cape Cod’s Hydrangea Fest. Because Eastham was a turnip capital of the nation in the 1800s, a turnip festival seemed like a good idea.

Eastham farmers grew turnip and asparagus in those early days, and Sinopoli said she’s glad the town chose turnips as a festival theme.

“You can turn a phrase with turnip,” she said. “We have had a lot of fun with it.”

Library volunteers will demonstrate library-owned equipment during the event. Sinopoli called it an opportunity to promote the library and its services, especially for the hearing and visually impaired.

But the spotlight will be on Eastham turnips. And besides providing for a wealth of funny sayings, health and nutrition concerns make this root vegetable a rock star. According to Health Line website, turnips have bioactive compounds that may help control blood sugar, and provide anticancer and anti-inflammatory effects. What’s not to love?

“They (turnips) are so sweet and mild flavored, and they are so versatile in cooking,” Sinopoli said. “Every year the chefs come up with something new and different.”

Local eateries offering turnip fare on their special menus include Abroad, The Alley BBQ, Barley Neck Inn, Basco Grill, Beacon Room, Block and Tackle, Brickhouse Restaurant, Brine, C Shore Kitchen, Cape Sea Grille, Casa del Cabo, Fairway Restaurant, Friends Marketplace.

Also participating are Hole in One Bakery, The Local Break, The Local Scoop, Mac's Market and Kitchen, Mahoney's Atlantic Grill, The Optimal Kitchen, The Rail, Rock Harbor Grill, Sam's Deli, Sunbird, 10 Yen, Whisk.

If you go:

Eastham Public Library: Turn Up for Fun Day. The library will have turnip-themed family entertainment from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Jungle Jim’s Balloons and Magic at 10:30 a.m. Trevor the Juggler at 2 p.m. Turnip themed games and activities all day, including face painting, temporary tattoos, photo opportunities with Mr. and Ms. Turnip, henna body art, Make and Take Turnip crafts, Turnip games and merchandise.

Chapel in the Pines: Next to the Eastham Public Library. Turn Up for Tunes, a free concert with Cathy Hatch and Cape Cod Ukulele Club will be at 1 p.m.

Farmers Market: Eastham farmers will sell their turnips at the Orleans Farmers Market on Old Colony Road, 9 a.m. to noon.

Taste of Turnip: Local eateries in Eastham, Orleans and Wellfleet will showcase menu specials featuring turnip for salenj in many glorious iterations, including appetizers, baked goods, main dishes and desserts. Plenty of opportunities to experiment.

For more information go to https://easthamturnipfestival.com.

Contact Denise Coffey at dcoffey@capecodonline.com. Follow her on Twitter: @DeniseCoffeyCCT.

This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Roots of the Eastham Turnip Festival are fun, games and food.