A warm bowl of homemade soup can brighten up a cold, dreary winter day.
The upcoming annual A Taste of Soup and Art Exhibit will offer up a sampling of six tasty soups. The event will also showcase the work of several talented Carroll County artists.
A Taste of Soup will be held from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. next Saturday, Feb. 1, at the Carrollton Community House.
“We start serving at 11, and we’re usually out of soup by 12:15,” said Pam Lee, an event organizer.
The fundraising event is now in its 14th year and second year being hosted by the Carroll Society for the Preservation of Antiquities.
The featured soups this year are bacon-potato corn chowder, Crock-Pot chicken tortilla soup, Crock-Pot cream cheese chicken chili, Crock-Pot ham and white bean soup, Italian egg drop soup and keto bacon cheeseburger soup.
“I think there will be soups there that everyone will like and soups that will appeal to certain people. That’s usually the case,” said Lee.
Lee said, when selecting the featured soups, Antiquities Society members look for soups with different flavors.
“We look for soups with different meats and vegetables, and we try to have a variety of flavors,” she said. “We also look for easy-to-cook soups. Three of the recipes are Crock-Pot soups this year.”
Jars will be set out beside each soup, where those attending can select the most popular one for a penny a vote.
“You can put pennies, quarters or dollars in the jars to indicate which soup you like the best,” said Lee. “It’s often surprising which one people will choose as their favorite.”
Last year’s winner was turnip green soup, which was followed by nacho potato soup.
“The first year we started, one of the soups was a turnip green soup,” said Lee. “A lot of people didn’t even taste it — couldn’t conceive that that would be a good soup.”
With a slightly different recipe, turnip green soup was a crowd-pleaser last year.
At a past A Taste of Soup, another soup Lee didn’t expect to win was the dill pickle soup.
“I think one thing the event has done is make people more aware that there are different types of soups and more willing to sample strange-sounding soups,” she said.
Although a tray to carry the soup cups will be provided, those attending are encouraged to bring their own muffin tins to set the cups of soup in for a steadier tray. A tin for six will work, but a tin for a dozen muffins will have space for the cornbread, crackers and a drink.
The event will also include dessert, which will be banana pudding.
A cookbook featuring recipes of all the event’s soups will be given to all who attend. The cookbook and the event venue’s decorations will feature information, history and pictures of the Carrollton Community House, which was a Works Progress Administration project in the 1930s and was recently added to the National Register of Historic Places.
“This year we are looking at the Community House through the years,” said Lee.
The event will feature artists Valerie Hammer, silver and copper jewelry; Joey Sayle, paintings; Johnny Barrentine, woodwork; Debbie Clark, vinyl art; Tommy Goodman, who recently published a book of his paintings; and sisters Amy and Ashlee Roberson, who crochet.
“All of the artists are from Carroll County,” said Lee. “When we started this event, we wanted to showcase Carroll County art.”
Lee said this event helps the society with its mission — “to preserve the county’s history through the Merrill Museum and the preservation of other buildings.”
“There are not many places where we have the range of architecture styles that you find in Carrollton,” said Lee, who is also the town’s mayor. “You can find so many different kinds in one place here, and people who like the old styles of architecture, if they come to Carrollton, get to see lots of it.”
Having a variety of architecture styles brings in visitors and tourism dollars, said Lee.
Preserving the buildings is “also important because the Merrill Museum holds part of Carroll County’s history,” said Lee. “We have Indian artifacts, exhibits from the John McCain family and Elizabeth Spencer; we have all these things in there that people don’t necessarily know about anymore.”
The Antiquities Society owns the Merrill Museum building and the old Conservative office and has a 99-year lease on the old Carroll County Jail.
“They always need some kind of repair, and this helps with the upkeep,” said Lee.
The Merrill Museum recently was awarded a grant from the Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area. Proceeds from A Taste of Soup, along with funds raised during the Pioneer Day Festival held in the fall, will provide the matching funds needed to receive the grant.
Anyone who is interested in preserving the history of Carroll County is encouraged to join the Antiquities Society, Lee said. There will be an opportunity to join at the event. Dues are $20 per person or $40 per family.
A Taste of Soup will also include door prizes.
“We encourage people to come and enjoy the day with us,” said Lee.
Tickets to A Taste of Soup are sold at the Carrollton Town Hall and by members of the Antiquities Society. Tickets will also be available at the door. Tickets are $10 each.
For more information, call the Carrollton Town Hall at 237-4600.
• Contact Ruthie Robison at 581-7235 or rrobison@gwcommonwealth.com.
What: A Taste of Soup and Art Exhibit
When: 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 1
Where: Carrollton Community House
Details: Tickets are available at Carrollton Town Hall, from members of the Antiquities Society or at the door on the day of the event. Tickets are $10 each.
