Activists, chefs, musicians, students and residents all have the opportunity to harmonize at Jam Jam Thursday evening. As Sustainable Oxford’s second annual fundraising event, Jam Jam offers attendees the delicacies of tasting homemade jams while enjoying the jams provided by local musicians.
Set to perform are Starman Jr., Talbot Adams and Tyler Keith. Each of the musicians performing at Jam Jam has released music this year, available at The End of All Music. Jam Jam will feature a competition for the tastiest jam recipe, with biscuits provided for sampling each of the jams.
(Courtesy: Oxfordarts.com)
Located at The Powerhouse on University Avenue from 5 to 9 p.m., admissions to Jam Jam is $10 per person and free for children under 12. Graham Hamaker of Starman Jr., said, “It’ll be cool … having little kids run around with jam on their faces.”
“I learned how to make jam last summer and found it to be a really fun and delicious way to utilize local ingredients. There’s always extra, so you can give it to your friends and family,” Kendall McDonald, sustainability fellow at the University of Mississippi, said.
McDonald will participate in this year’s Jam Jam alongside several other local competitors. This year she’s entering with a peach and pepper jam recipe but is also known for a blueberry mint recipe.
Shannon Curtis, board member and program coordinator of Sustainable Oxford, said quite a few unique and unexpected flavors pop up at Jam Jam.
“Jam is the sweetest kind of preserved food. Anything that encourages people to learn how to can or preserve food is good,” Curtis said. “There are some really creative flavors out there. Last year, Chef Corbin Evans entered with a white peach and jalapeño flavored jam.”
Corbin Evans, chef and owner of Canoodle by Oxford Canteen, will enter this year’s Jam Jam with a habanero, white peach and Thai basil jam.
“I thought I was going to win last year. I didn’t,” he said. “I’m coming back with hopefully a better batch…I wanted to do sort of what I did last year…I wanted to make it better and hopefully I’ll win.”
“It’s a fun way of getting a lot of different types of people to come together. Some are going to come because they love jam and others will come because they love the bands playing. Those people can meet and hang out,” Curtis said.
Sustainable Oxford plans on using the proceeds from Jam Jam to develop community programs and workshops for the coming year. Keep Oxford and Lafayette County Beautiful, an anti-litter pledge, and Sustainable Practices for Our Restaurant Kitchens (SPORK) are two programs tied closely to Sustainable Oxford’s efforts within the community. SPORK-certified restaurants, like Canoodle, follow standards for buying locally, recycling and using green cleaners.
“We bring sustainability to Oxford and connect people who are already doing these things together, so that we may lessen our footprint,” Curtis said.
Sustainable Oxford’s next workshop is on Oct. 1 at The Powerhouse and will explore benefits and methods of composting. All workshops are free for the public to attend.
“I think Jam Jam is a great way to engage Oxford in local food while also supporting sustainability in our community,” McDonald said.
