Sunday, November 10, 2013

A Very 1950s Holiday with the Ohio Historical Society at Whole Foods - Upper Arlington


On Saturday this weekend, Kenneth and I went back in time at our local Whole Foods!  The Ohio Historical Society was celebrating a 1950s Thanksgiving at Whole Foods, complete with costumed characters, 1950s recipes and crafts for kids. After Halloween, Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.  I love visiting with my family (without the chaos of Christmas shopping) and Thanksgiving food is the best!  I also really enjoy learning about the past, local history and my own genealogy are my favorite historical subjects.  When I read about this event I was pretty excited to attend! 





We wandered around Whole Foods for a while on Saturday, looking for the costumed characters (and finding some new gluten-free foods!).  I was a little worried we'd miss a person in costume by assuming they were just another shopper who just happened to be dressing in a vintage or retro style that day... 1850s clothing would have been much easier to pick out than 1950s clothing!

Soon enough we soon ran into a 1950s couple working on their Thanksgiving grocery list. The woman asked if we were also shopping for Thanksgiving and recommended we try green bean casserole, which the Campbell Soup Company had just created (this dish was actually invented by Campbells, in 1955).  She told us that the grocery store had some samples but that they made it with fresh green beans instead of canned.  I loved how enthusiastic the staff or volunteers who played this couple were, and the woman's outfit was awesome!  She was very dressed up by today's standards, at least to go grocery shopping! 



Kenneth and I sampled some tasty Thanksgiving recipes, my favorite was the 1950s olive medley, the olives were sweet!  I couldn't try all of the samples, but I did grab a recipe for strawberry pretzel salad that I might make gluten-free.  As we enjoyed the samples we watched the 1950s couple find assistance in locating the items on their list from Whole Foods staff and shoppers.  We also realized that several Whole Foods staff had gotten into the 1950s spirit by dressing in costume, this really added to the retro vibe the Ohio Historical Society was creating.  I loved it!

The adorable kids craft was an ornament made out of a wine bottle, the ones we saw were pretty cute!  The Ohio Historical Society had cards on hand asking shoppers what their favorite part of Thanksgiving is.  For me, Thanksgiving isn't Thanksgiving without family and something with pumpkin in it for dessert!



This unique event was a lot of fun!  It combined two of my favorite subjects: food and history.  If I ever end of making the Strawberry Pretzel Salad I will share the results here - have you ever heard of or tasted such a unique dessert?

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