On Saturday, Feb. 4, soup will be served in Carrollton.
Taste of Soup is back this year. The richly-anticipated event will again be held at the Carrollton Community House from 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Mayor Pam Lee said the soup-tasting affair will be “come-and-go” and urges those who want samples to bring muffin tins for their soup cups.
“It’s just more convenient,” Lee said. “The 4-ounce soup cups fit perfectly inside the muffin tins.”
Tickets are $10 per person for soup tasting. The theme for 2023 is “With Heritage So Rich,” and as in years past, proceeds from Taste of Soup and Art Exhibit will benefit the Carroll Society for the Preservation of Antiquities, which puts on the event.
Taste of Soup has been a staple of life in Carrollton since 2006 and has always been held on the first Saturday in February. It shows off not only soups and art but the Community House, a log structure built in 1935-36 that was a WPA effort in Carroll County. It has recently been added to the National Register of Historic Places.
Carrollton-North Carrollton’s Friends of the Library originally started Taste of Soup as a fundraiser in 2006, but after a few years the event was included under the umbrella of the Antiquities Society, Lee said.
This year, six soups will be featured: Cabbage; cheesy chicken; crockpot potato broccoli cheddar; Santa Fe; spicy bean; and squash soup. Members of the Antiquities Society prepare the soup. Cornbread and dessert will also be available.
Visitors will be able to get their soup at serving stations set up inside the Community House, where the art will also be exhibited. This year’s featured artists are Misty Davis, who does jewelry and beaded items; painter, Mary Fluker; Robert Deaton, who does woodworking; Gary Bankston, a candlemaker; and Mark Stiles, who also does woodworking.
Lee said the exhibit features works from different artists each year. “We are constantly finding new artists,” she said.
Stiles created a charcuterie board from wood from one of the white oak trees that was removed from the historic water tower that the town aims to have painted as a landmark. “We will be auctioning it off to raise money for the water tower,” Lee said. "We’re going to do it online starting Feb. 4 and there will be a sheet at the Community House where people can place their bids.” Bids can be made on the City of Carrollton’s Facebook page.
As always, a cookbook will be available to those who purchase tickets. Last year’s cookbook features the recipe to one of the event’s most popular dishes, dill pickle soup. It was the creation of the late Maxine Nunley and chosen as the favorite soup in 2016. The cookbook for 2022 included recipes for such tasty items as King Ranch chicken soup; quick and easy pizza soup; mac-n-cheese soup; and stuffed pepper soup.
Table decorations this year will contain information cards from the Merrill Museum, which is owned and operated by the Antiquities Society. Donations keep the building and museum open.
Contact Dan Marsh at dmarsh@gwcommonwealth.com or 662-581-7235.
