3rd Annual Family Barbecue & Gumbo Festival Bigger and Better Than Ever
by Craig Hickman, Foundation Chair
The Winthrop Area Rotary Foundation’s third annual Family Barbecue and Gumbo Festival to End Hunger presented by Charlie’s Family of Dealerships was the place to be on Saturday, August 16. Five hundred people came from all over Maine to enjoy a pig roast, ribs, chicken, smoked chicken & sausage gumbo, beans, collards, blackeye peas, cornbread, fried green tomatoes, coleslaw, homemade desserts, fresh fruit, a bounce house, live music, hula hoops, and much more. Thank you.
We couldn’t have done it without the generous support of Charlie’s, our title sponsor from the beginning. We couldn’t have done it without the expert event planning and culinary talent of Eric Thoreson, event co-chair from the beginning. Couldn’t have done it without Winthrop Hot Meal Kitchen director Steve Dodge who has coordinated days of food preparation for the festival from the beginning. Without Winthrop Food Pantry director JoEllen Cottrell who has clocked countless hours volunteering for the event from the beginning. Couldn’t have done it without Ed and Marcia Walls Simmons who have baked beans, made coleslaw, and prepared delicious meats from the beginning. Without the delicious milk-fed pig from Wholesome Homestead, who has donated meat (brisket, too) from the beginning. (And without Robert Laster who roasted the pig perfectly this year as did Rick Harvey last year.) Without Jerry Casey who has generously shared his legendary cornbread from the beginning. Couldn’t have done it without the live music from Ricky Doseldo and friends who have entertained the crowds from the beginning. Thank you.
We couldn’t have done it without the Rotarians (from here and away) and more than 40 other volunteers who prepped food, cooked, served, washed dishes, lent grills, and hauled all sorts of things to and fro to make this year’s event an overwhelming success. Couldn’t have done it without the growing list of co-sponsors who made this year’s event bigger and better than ever: Annabessacook Farm, Apple Valley Books, Community Advertiser, Crostini’s Catering, D R Designs, Delta Ambulance, Fuller Ink, Gibson Leclair, Hannaford, Intelligence Security International, J&S Oil, Kennebec Savings Bank, Knowlton Hewins Roberts Funeral Home, Lakeside Motel, Paris Farmers Union, Sam’s Club, Tuscan Wood Fired Ovens, Wholesome Homestead, Winthrop Fuel, Winthrop Veterinary Hospital, Yell-O-Glow, Ricky Dosedlo, Patrick & Marjorie Flood, Karen & Tom McPhedron/Tallwood Design, Lefty & Connie McIntyre, Bill McKenna, and host of other local businesses and people. Thank you.
While we must continue to address emergency food needs in our region, we must also build long-term resources to support food security and local nutrition education. The Foundation’s long-term goal is to build a Winthrop Area Food and Community Center for our area communities. Any funds beyond the food and supplies used to support the festival and our local emergency food relief organizations will be put into a Winthrop Area Food and Community Center reserve account. The Food Center will be a food service and education facility featuring a commercial kitchen and community café that serves evening meals restaurant-style, a year-round growing facility, and outdoor community gardens. It will be a place where people from all walks of life can come together to learn how to grow, prepare, process, and preserve nutritious food for themselves and their families.
If you weren’t able to attend the festival and are so inclined, please send a contribution, no amount too small, to
Winthrop Area Rotary Foundation
Post Office Box 62
Winthrop, ME 04364
To eliminate hunger in our region, we need all hands on deck. Thank you. Take care of your blessings
Please enjoy these photographs, most of which are from/by Dean Gyorgy - www.dgmediaarts.com
Thank you, Dean.
Ana a Giant Thank you to our Featuring Sponsor
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