JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – So, what exactly is a honey dripper?
For those not in the know, a honey dripper is a beloved frozen treat synonymous with summer in the South. It’s known as a homemade treat comprised of Kool-Aid, fruit punch, or canned fruit frozen inside a cup.
According to many, the term honey dripper originated in Jacksonville, particularly in the city’s OutEast neighborhood, and the face of the tasty treat today is Eastside advocate Michele Kimbrough, owner of the Honey Dripper House.
“Every city in the United States has the same concept, but the name is different,” Kimbrough said.
She was front and center when the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp announced they would transform into the Jacksonville Honey Drippers for two weekends.
“Honey drippers are a staple in the East Side,” Kimbrough said. “They have been since I was a child, and it is still alive, well and kicking. In the East Side community, we like keeping the community intact with integrity and pride. Like it’s something to say that you had when you were a child, and you still have it today. It’s just an amazing feeling all the way around. It gives us the opportunity to bring that nostalgic feeling back and make you feel like a kid again.”
Kimbrough said she was blown away by the colorful alternate jersey that was unveiled by the Shrimp on Wednesday that shows a honey dripper.
“I’m extremely grateful that something so local in our community has gone to such a bigger platform and bringing so much attention to not only our community as a whole, but the Jumbo Shrimp and the work that we’re doing together, a wonderful collaboration,” she said.
For those who can’t wait to show off their Honey Drippers pride, merchandise is available for preorder online at Jaxshrimp.com/shop.
“We’ve always since we’ve got here, wanted to figure out, OK, what is Jacksonville about? How can we engage ourselves with the community, and what’s going on here as well? We actually noticed, because it was literally driving around our stadium, was the honey dripper. And then as we dove a little bit deeper, we were like, this is Duval. So it was a great opportunity for us to do an identity change for a couple weekends here and pay homage to a community that’s so close too,” said Harold Craw, General Manager of the Jumbo Shrimp.
