TIFTON — A celebration of the opening of the Smithsonian Food Exhibit at the Georgia Agrirama will be held at 11:30 a.m. Saturday in the museum’s lobby. Tifton is one of a dozen stops for the traveling food exhibit “Key Ingredients: America by Food.” The exhibit will include several opportunities for adults and children through educational and entertaining events that run until the culmination of the exhibit’s stay with a recipe taste-off on Aug. 1.

“This is a phenomenal tour and Tifton is a perfect place for it, with our rich agricultural history and strong food traditions,” said John Johnson, the Agrirama museum’s curator.

Through a selection of artifacts, photographs and illustrations, the Key Ingredients exhibit examines the evolution of the American kitchen. It also looks beyond the home to illustrate how Americans gain a sense of community through the meals that they eat, providing a glimpse at the traditions that merge in everyday meals and celebrations.

The exhibit will also feature displays depicting local and regional traditions to add local flavor to the larger, national-themed exhibit. Tifton’s exhibit will include special displays on community canning, organic gardening, the farmer’s market and more.

The exhibit is hosted statewide by the Georgia Humanities Council. Local sponsors include the Georgia Agrirama, The Tifton Gazette, Georgia Organics, Tifton Terminal Railway Museum, Tifton Farmers’ Market, the University of Georgia, the Tift County Canning Plant, the Georgia Egg Commission, the Georgia Peanut Commission, the National Peanut Buyer’s Point Association, Tift County 4-H and FFA, the Georgia Watermelon Association and Kohl Players.

A variety of community events will complement the exhibit. Those events are listed below:

• Exhibit’s opening celebration, 11:30 a.m., Georgia Agrirama museum lobby. First public viewing of the museum with curator John Johnson followed by traditional refreshments and beverages.

• Organic Gardening Basics, 7 p.m., June 23, Agrirama museum screening room. Learn the basics of growing your own food year-round and naturally. The focus of the event will be to discuss organic seeds, seed saving and the organic food movement in Georgia. The event will be led by master gardener Leeann Culbreath.

• South Georgia Foodways Festival, 6 to 9 p.m., June 26, Agrirama’s Wiregrass Opry Shelter and museum. A celebration of food culture in south Georgia, including local food supper plates for $5, a farmers’ market on-site, music, a seed swap, kids’ activities, exhibits, door prizes and more.

• Food Preservation 101, 6 to 8 p.m., June 30, Agrirama’s conference room and kitchen. Learn the basics of safe canning, freezing and drying fresh produce. Led by Katie Barnes, UGA Cooperative Extension Service. Limit 25 people. Call 391-7980 to make reservations.

• July 4th Celebration all day at the Agrirama. Join the Georgia Watermelon Queen at the watermelon eating and seed spitting contest. Lots of kids’ games, BBQ Joints book signing with David Gelin, live music, special exhibits and a BBQ chicken lunch.

• Community Gardening 101, 7 p.m., July 7, Agrirama’s museum screening room. Like the victory gardens of old, modern community gardens help bring people together during hard times to grow their own food. Learn about community gardening efforts in Tifton and throughout the state. Led by Leeann Culbreath and Keep Tift Beautiful.

• Train Museum Benefit Dinner, 4 to 7 p.m., July 11, Tifton Terminal Railway Museum, 120 S. Tift Ave. Tour a renovated 1948 diner car and enjoy a Southern dinner at the museum. Tours begin at 4 p.m. and dinner is served at 7:30 p.m. Advance tickets available at the train museum, Western Auto and Harper Enterprises.

• The Incredible Edible Egg, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., July 11, Agrirama Museum. View the new museum exhibit about the history of the egg industry form the farm to your table. The Georgia Egg Commission will present recipes and demonstrations about the many uses of eggs. Led by Robert Howell and Holly Hidell.

• “King Corn” film screening, 7 p.m., July 14, Agrirama museum screening room. “King Corn” is a fun and crusading journey into the digestive tract f our fast food nation where one commodity, corn, dominates the food pyramid from top to bottom. Two college buddies return to their ancestral home in Iowa to figure out how a modest kernel conquered America. A discussion will follow. Co-sponsored by Georgia Organics.

• Southern Stews Documentary, 7 p.m., July 21, Agrirama museum. Stew making has always been a ritual at community and family events. Film includes Georgia and Virginia varieties of Brunswick Stew, Kentucky Burgoo, Caroline Hash and Virginia Sheep Stew.

• Sustainability Fair, 1 to 6 p.m., July 25. Learn how food and agricultural products can be part of a sustainable future for South Georgia. Demonstrations and talks on biodiesel, recycling, composting, suburban homesteading, re-building community life and more. Peanut treats all afternoon. A round table of local experts will discuss sustainable peanut farming. The event will culminate in an ethnic foodways barbecue and potluck. Co-sponsored by Georgia Organics, Georgia Peanut Commission and the National peanut Buyers’ Point Association.

• Agrirama Foodways Day Camp, 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., July 27-31, 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. daily, ages 10-13. Kids will learn how to cook over a fireplace and wood cookstove; harvest fruit and vegetables from the garden; and prepare produce for preservation by both freezing and canning. The class is limited to 12. Contact the Agrirama at 386-7289 for registration information. The cost is $40.

• “Turpentine Jake” performances, 7 p.m. July 31 and 4 p.m. Aug. 1. A nationally-acclaimed play about life as a black Florida turpentine worker during the 1930s. Acts from the production will be performed in front of the recently-restored turn-of-the-century worker’s shanty at the Agrirama. The Saturday performance is followed by a screening of the full two-hour production. Light refreshments will be served.

• Recipe Taste-Off, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Aug. 1, Agrirama conference room. Winning recipes from the Tifton Gazette’s annual “Great Tifton Taste-Off” will be available for judging and tasting, with a special category for old family recipes and related stories. Taste-off winning recipes will be published in the Gazette.

People are encouraged to preserve and share their family recipes. Electronic or had copies of recipes will be accepted beginning Saturday and will be included in a recipe database, which will be viewable at the museum. Recipes may be submitted online at www.agrirama.com or mailed to John Johnson, c/o The Georgia Agrirama, P.O. Box 736, Tifton, GA 31793. People should include their name, address, recipe and a sort family recipe history with each recipe submitted. Cookbooks are also welcome for consignment sale in the Agrirama’s country store. Johnson can be contacted at 229-386-7289.