Giving Thanks: 17th-Century Food Traditions at Mission San Luis

Tallahassee –

On Sunday, November 20, 2016, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mission San Luis invites the public to demonstrations of culinary traditions at Tallahassee’s only National Historic Landmark.

“The Sunday before Thanksgiving, experience another time with demonstrations of colonial-era cooking at Mission San Luis’ ninth annual Giving Thanks event,” said Secretary of State Ken Detzner. “Hunting, sowing, growing, harvesting, preserving and cooking were all part of an intricate balance of scarcity and abundance for the 17^th-century Apalachee and Spanish.”

Visitors can learn how people and foods from the New and Old Worlds came together and how each culture changed but also kept traditional and well-loved foods. The event will feature:

• Living history interpreters in period dress demonstrating cooking over a fire pit and smoking meat and fish on a
• Discussions of hunting, sowing, growing, harvesting, and preserving food.
• Historic food preparation and craft activities for children.
• Hands-on archery activities for all ages.
• Vendor with food available for purchase.
• Food drive for Second Harvest.
• Blood drive (10:30-2:30; donors will receive a fleece blanket and wellness checkup.)

Caption:  Living history interpreters at Mission San Luis demonstrate the preparation of 17^th-century Apalachee and Spanish recipes.  (Photo by Wade Bishop Photography/Jan Wiley)

 
Mission San Luis was the western capital of Spanish Florida from 1656 to 1704. Today, Florida’s Apalachee-Spanish Living History Museum brings the early 1700s to life with reenactors, reconstructed period buildings, exhibits, and archaeological research. The site is part of the Florida Department of State, Office of External Affairs, and support is provided by the Friends of Florida History, Inc.

Mission San Luis is located at 2100 West Tennessee Street in Tallahassee, Florida, and is open Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is $5 for adults, $3 for seniors 65+, $2 for ages 6-17, and free for members, children under 6, and active duty military. For more information, please call 850.245.6406 or visit missionsanluis.org.

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About Mission San Luis

Mission San Luis, Florida’s Apalachee-Spanish Living History Museum, was the western capital of Spanish Florida from 1656 to 1704. The Mission, now a national historic landmark, brings the early 1700s to life with living history interpreters in period dress, reconstructed period buildings, exhibits, and archaeological research. The site is managed by the Florida Department of State, Division of Historical Resources, Bureau of Archaeological Research, and support is provided by the Friends of Mission San Luis, Inc. Mission San Luis is located at 2100 West Tennessee Street in Tallahassee, Florida, and is open Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, call 850.245.6406 or visit missionsanluis.org.