Delta State University Capps Archives and Museum with support from the Mississippi Humanities Council announce the opening of the newest exhibit, “BBQ Joints: Stories and Secret Recipes from the Barbeque Belt.” A reception and lecture by David Gelin and featuring selections of local BBQ will kick off the exhibit at 5:30 p.m., Sept. 16, in the Lucy Somerville Howorth Seminar Room in the Museum.
The reception and exhibit which is available for viewing through Nov. 26, in the main galley of the Museum, is free and open to the public.
Throughout the exhibit, the art of southern hospitality, of extending kindness with the passing of a plate of barbecue, is as entwined in this story as the smoke in the flavor of the barbecue.
It has been called the South’s ‘most democratic food’ being cooked, served and eaten by all classes of people. From political stumps to church yard gatherings, barbecue has held a central role in many of the South’s grandest traditions.
Barbecue’s taste, textures and smells pull at a Southerner’s heart strings like nothing else. Its various forms bring about as much debate as national elections – dry vs. wet, pulled vs. shaved, and on and on.
Gelin, throughout his research and subsequent published work, set out to capture the essence of a time-honored and passed down tradition of creating southern barbecue. Barbecue is unpretentious, but at the same time held in high regard. Family recipes are highly guarded secrets while the fare itself is openly offered.
“With so many ways to spell it, inconsistency just comes with the territory,” states Gelin explaining that whether you start with smoky logs in a cast-iron cooker or a pit in the ground, whether it is doused with a sweet or savory sauce or dusted with a dry rub, the choice for determining ‘good barbecue’ is strictly subjective. Through his book and in the exhibition you are invited to take a look around the South at some of his chosen stops, evaluate for yourself and consider your history with the ‘cue.
Special events and programs associated with the exhibit are as follows:
Lunch and Learn with Amy Evans Streeter
Oct. 5, at noon – Lucy Somerville Howorth Seminar Room, Capps Archives and Museum.
A selection of BBQ will compliment the lecture presentation.
Movie Night! Fried Green Tomatoes
Oct. 6, at 7 p.m. – Recital Hall, Bologna Performing Arts Center
The History and Politics of BBQ: lecture presentation by Charles Westmoreland
Oct. 13, at noon – Lucy Somerville Howorth Seminar Room, Capps Archives and Museum.
Museum hours are Monday – Tuesday, 8 a.m. – noon and 1- 5 p.m., Wednesday, 1 – 5 p.m., Thursday, 8 a.m. – noon and 1 – 5 p.m. and Friday, 8 a.m. – noon.
For more information, call the Archives at (662) 846-4780 or visit the Archives website at archives.deltastate.edu.
