Swamp Gravy

My birthday was a week ago and I'm still glowing.

My mother came up with an amazing experience. She bought tickets to "Swamp Gravy" in Colquitt, Georgia. I had no idea what that was, but it turned out to be a lot of fun.

The evening began with a special buffet dinner at the Tarrer Inn. I didn't get a picture of the outside, but the inside was decorated a bit like a Civil War era sitting room.

The buffet was set up in a hallway. One side had okra, mashed potatoes, roast beef, fried chicken, baked chicken, fried green beans, rolls, swamp gravy and a vegetable medley. The other side featured a lovely salad bar with soup. I was actually pretty good diet-wise. Baked chicken, small serving of mashed potatoes, vegetable medley and salad bar. Delicious!

There was a challenge waiting at the end of the meal. My knees nearly went out from under me at the sight - and this lovely array was on BOTH sides of the hall! Pecan pie, key lime, chocolate, cheesecake and (not pictured) red velvet cake. Absolutely NONE of these are on my Lenten diet - but I lucked out... there was a blackberry cobbler and vanilla ice cream. I had the fruit part and ice cream for dessert. Mmmmm....

We were joined by visiting cousins Carol and Ed who'd come down from New York State and were making the rounds of Florida family and a cruise. I can't even remember when I saw them last - it was an additional treat to have them with us that evening.

After dinner, we had some time to kill before the show, so we wandered around Colquitt. Most of the buildings have some kind of mural painted on it. These are just a small sampling:

ZBoy's favorite babysitter and my parents' goddaughter went with us too!

The lobby of the theatre was set up like a little town. And there was quilt art everywhere.

In addition to the quilts covering tables, there was one in progress at the end of the hall.

The woman on the right is 91 years old. You should have seen how fast she whipped that needle around and how adept with that thimble! I always feel so awkward with a thimble on my finger.

Finally we were ushered into the theatre. It's a permanent installation and a horseshoe audience. It was a fairly small space and the seats were low and close together. Great for kids, but a little difficult for the tall and somewhat decrepit to manage. The highest row was plain old chairs lined up against the wall, and half our party wound up sitting there instead of in their assigned seats.

The play itself was very interesting. "Swamp Gravy" is a yearly offering by the town of Colquitt. The actors are not professional, but culled from the citizenry. The play is different every year, also written by locals who have gathered family stories from the other locals and woven them into a single story every year. This year's followed the life of a preacher who's life had been marked by fire not once, but several times over, and the events in the lives of his congregation. It was excellent!

When it was all over, I felt it was an evening well spent. This has been a most satisfying birthday!