CANTON -- The TAUNY Center, 53 Main St., will celebrate the unveiling of a new demonstration kitchen with the return of their famed pea soup and johnnycake lunch on Saturday, April 18.

"We're thrilled to open our kitchen to the public by bringing back this crowd-pleaser," says TAUNY's executive director Jill Breit.

The community is invited to the all day celebration, which kicks off at 10 a.m. with live music by The Madstop Fiddlers of Potsdam. The pea soup and johnnycake lunch will follow from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., and crafts, food demonstrations, live music, and further activities will continue throughout the day.

Pea soup is often served in Quebecois sugar shacks during maple season, and is made with split yellow peas, flavored with salt pork (for Saturday, there will be a vegetarian version as well), simmered till it’s good and savory, and served piping hot. It came to the North Country with the many Quebecois families who settled in the region, and its pairing with the cornmeal-based johnnycake reflects the meeting of Francophone and early American traditions.

“Fair warning—the two together are hard to resist,” says Camilla Ammirati, TAUNY’s director of research and programs. “If you join us on Saturday, you’ll see why the old saying goes, ‘Pea soup and johnnycake makes the Frenchman’s belly ache!’” The lunch will be followed by a maple cream demonstration with local maple producers at 2:00pm and a sauerkraut demonstration by Flip Filippi and Bob Washo of little Grasse Foodworks at 3 p.m.

All activities are free and open to the public.

The multi-use kitchen is the final piece in the five-year capital project that included TAUNY’s purchase and renovation of their downtown Canton location.

"Making and sharing the food we love is such an important part of family and community traditions,” says Ammirati. “We’re very excited to invite you to celebrate and learn about these traditions in the kitchen with us this Saturday and going forward. We are especially looking forward to a series of kids' cooking classes in the fall, as well as public workshops and demonstrations highlighting a variety of regional food traditions. We hope you’ll come join us, and, as my grandma would say, ‘Eat something!’”

The kitchen is intended for programming, demonstrations, events, and other uses that meet community needs and further TAUNY's mission.

TAUNY is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping people understand and appreciate the folk traditions and local culture of everyday life--present and past--in the North Country.

The TAUNY Center hosts exhibits, workshops, programs, events, and the North Country Folkstore and is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.