By Crystal Hayduk
Food is a necessity of life, and that’s probably why people gravitate to their favorite fair foods every August during the Chelsea Community Fair.
With a wide variety of food and treats available, nobody needs to settle on just one, either. Throughout the week, I like to sample several of my annual favorites – Kiwanis dogs, elephant ears, and French fries dripping with malt vinegar to name just a few.
When the fair opened on Tuesday evening, I walked from one end to the other, visiting each place that offered food and chatting with fairgoers about their favorites. Here are some of the results of my informal poll:
Cotton candy and caramel apples with nuts are the most popular treat items sold on the midway.
The fair is reported to be one of the best places to get a corn dog.
Chelsea Fair’s own ice cream shack offers what many people said is one of the best food bargains at $3 for a generous serving of ice cream and $4 for a milkshake. Seven flavors are available, and favorite flavors seem to be related to age – children prefer Superman, young adults often order Moose Tracks, and older adults love butter pecan. (Related story https://chelseaupdate.com/2016-chelsea-community-fair-check-new-ice-cream-shack/)
Many people who buy food on the midway also purchase food from the Kiwanis hot dog, Amie Jo’s elephant ears, and Rotary beverage trailers located near the main arena. Not only do they offer delicious food, but it’s widely recognized that the money spent there is returned to the community. (Related story https://chelseaupdate.com/2016-chelsea-community-fair-kiwanis-club-lowers-prices-popular-items-hotdog-truck/)
Nine picnic tables are shaded by a canopy tent this year, thanks to Ron Livengood and Chelsea Hearth and Fireplaces.
The Chelsea Fair restaurant in the service center (I’ve always affectionately called it the fair kitchen) offers meals all day beginning with breakfast at 7 a.m. Items can be purchased a la carte at a reasonable price. With dinner specials that include an entrée, vegetable, salad, and bread, it really is possible to eat a nutritionally balanced meal at the fair. (And the air conditioning in the service center on a hot day is a plus.) (Related story https://chelseaupdate.com/2016-chelsea-community-fair-ginny-shelley-wheaton-will-favorite-food-service-center/)
Kristy Fetyko, whose husband had gone in search of a corn dog, sat in the gazebo eating a slice of pizza. “This doesn’t hold a candle to Thompson’s, but you’ve got to do it once a year.”
The line was long on the midway as many fairgoers waited to order a bucket of fries. Aaron Duykers and Noah Lee admitted that a lot of the midway concessions seem overpriced, but the $8 bucket of fries is the perfect size for sharing and can be refilled for $4. Giving a nod to their artistic side and the influence of their teachers at Chelsea High School, they came up with an impromptu Haiku. “Chicken on a stick, what a beautiful purchase. It needs some ketchup.”
For my first evening at the 2016 Chelsea Fair, I tried the Kiwanis knockwurst and sauerkraut, which Bob Milbrodt, Kiwanis treasurer, had told me was the most popular item served. Called a “one with” by the Kiwanis volunteers, and smothered in their secret recipe sauerkraut, it really was mouthwateringly delicious.
Milbrodt said that the Kiwanis group can earn $60,000 in a good fair year, and all of that money is used to support dozens of local organizations and activities. Weather is their biggest concern and potential detriment to their most important fundraising of the year. “So if it rains, bring the rain gear and come anyway,” said Milbrodt.
You may see me at the fair this week – possibly wandering the grounds sharing one of Amie Jo’s elephant ears with my daughters, or at the demolition derby sharing fries with my husband, or having an early dinner at the service center, catching up on my daily recommended servings of vegetables. Let me know what your favorite fair foods are.
