Irmo, South Carolina Celebrates Okra
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Not everyone gets excited when they talk about Okra. But in the town of Irmo, South Carolina, you’ll find that people just love the wacky vegetable. In fact, people in the town homage to the vegetable each Autumn with a unique celebration.
Over three and a half decades, the Okra Strut has grown substantially in popularity, much like Irmo itself, a suburb of about 11,000 people northwest of the state capital itself. The Strut now draws an estimated 50,000 people.
“We get a lot of attention because it’s an unusual vegetable,” says Jim Twitty, the festival’s administrator. “Some people have never heard of it. Sometimes I have to explain what it is first.”
If you go …Irmo Okra Strut: Irmo, South Carolina, 10 miles northwest of Columbia; http://www.irmookrastrut.com or 803-781-6122. Free. Okra eating contest for public safety officers and street dance, 6-11 p.m. Sept. 28; Okra Strut parade and festival, including okra eating contest for children, 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Sept. 29.
Not to mention explaining why anyone would want to eat okra. It grows in slender pods covered in light fuzz, 3 to 4 inches long. It’s not much for inner beauty, either. Slicing an okra pod open releases an oozy inner membrane.
Of course most people end up just deep frying the Okra, and this has given rise to a great number of recipes that people really seem to enjoy.
The Okra Strut has been going on since 1973 and consistently draws large crowds to the area.
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