By BETTE BRITT
With a series of events and special dinners scheduled between Thursday, October 15, and Sunday, October 18, those living in the area had no excuse for complaining, “There’s nothing to do around here now that the Blue Hill Fair is over.” With activities spread over three days, the fourth annual Foliage, Food and Wine Festival organized and run by the Blue Hill Peninsula Chamber of Commerce, filled many schedules. Why so late in the season? Blue Hill Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Sue Walsh explained it was a deliberate attempt to keep the season going a week after Columbus Day, supporting local businesses by providing a showcase for chamber members at a time when things were beginning to slow down after a hectic summer.
Was it worth the gamble that weather might be too chilly? Walsh indicated that attendance overall was about the same as in 2008, when bright sunshine had shone on the Sunday festivities, held for the first time up Tenney Hill at John and Beth Hikade’s Arborvine.
This year, to combat a raw, cold and eventually rainy Sunday afternoon for the Taste of the Peninsula events, people just dressed warmer and probably had more appreciation for the hot stews, chilies, chowders and appetizers being served by area vendors. People were also livened up by music performed by the George Stevens Academy Jazz Combo, the A-Train Trio and George Lirakis in a separate tent on the grounds.
A Taste of the Peninsula featured several “firsts,” according to Walsh, and at least one, the chowder cook-off, will be back by popular demand in 2010. There were 13 entrants—“12 signed up and one late entry,” said one of three busy people standing behind a serving table on which rested a variety of insulated containers and slow cookers.
Judges Rich Hanson, Harry Kaiserian and Dennis Robertson sampled each entry, jotted notes, accepted successive samples and, after discussion, declared Tina Allen’s traditional haddock chowder their unanimous choice for first place. “I didn’t think I had a chance…I didn’t expect to win,” said Allen after accepting an original chowder mug for her effort. She had entered the cook-off as sort of a challenge, she added.
Blue Hill Fire Chief Dennis Robertson agreed to be a judge without finding out who the judges were; Hanson is a chef and Kaiserian writes a food column for Penobscot Bay Press, but Robertson verified afterwards that all three thought the haddock chowder was best, although the other 12 entries were described as “lovely” and praised individually for the “variety of their tastes.”
Another “first” for the festival was awarding a custom-designed Rackliffe Pottery bowl to the vendor voted Best of the Fest by balloting among those in attendance. There was a three-way tie for third place, according to Walsh, with Bianco Provisions, Blue Hill Hearth and TABLE: A Farmhouse Bistro, seen as equally outstanding. Black Dinah Chocolatiers came in second, with El El Frijoles winning by a hair. All three featured very different specialties served with friendly flair, and, in the case of the winner, the addition of an adorably docile baby, Jasper.
In recapping the days-long festival, Walsh called attention to a couple of additional offerings on Saturday which were limited to a few enrollees: a flower arranging workshop with fruits and vegetables at Fairwinds Florist, and an artisan chocolate making workshop at Blue Hill Inn where Kate Shaffer of Black Dinah Chocolates led a hands-on class. Both were, to quote Walsh, “great opportunities to bring something new for the festival.”
When interviewed on Monday, Walsh summed up the experience of planning and executing such a successful event by saying, “After a week to recover, we’ll be full of ideas for next year.”
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