2013 Whoopie Pie Festival
The sweetest day in the state! Maine Whoopie Pie Festival June 22
DOVER-FOXCROFT — The celebration of Maine’s official state treat, the Whoopie Pie, takes place on Saturday, June 22. In its fourth year the Maine Whoopie Pie Festival has become a statewide celebration of the iconic Maine treat – the Whoopie Pie.
This year, the festival will feature dozens of bakers and literally tens of thousands of whoopie pies along with other vendors and crafters, artists, activities, lots of fun for kids and families and live music all day long. Admission to the festival is only $5 with kids 12 and under getting in for free.
Observer file photos
HOW MANY WHOOPIE PIES? — Contestants in past year’s whoopie pie eating contests see how many of the miniature desserts they can eat. This year’s Maine Whoopie Pie Festival will take place on Saturday, June 22 in downtown Dover-Foxcroft, and attendees can choose from a wide variety of the treats (and also choose how fast or slow they want to eat their whoopie pies).
This year, the Festival has garnered accolades from some popular online sites. “We were named one of the top events in Maine by AmericatheBeautiful.com which was very exciting. Then we were chosen as the Best New England Festival or Event by visitors to About.com. This really blew us away and was a great indication of the popularity of the Whoopie Pie and the efforts to promote it in Maine. We hope these sites will help us to show off our part of the State and bring more people to the festival so it continues to grow,” festival organizer Patrick Myers said.
“As the festival has grown, we’ve tried to provide more activities for kids and families.” Myers said. “This year, we have so much that we’ve set aside a whole area called “The Kid’s Whoopie Zone.” The Zone features all sorts of kids’ activities from making your own silly putty to bungee jumping rides to magicians to carriage rides pulled by Clydesdales. We have games and fun for kids and families all day long.”
The day starts with the Piscataquis Regional YMCA’s Earn Your Whoopie Pie 3K Run/Walk at 8:45 a.m. and Kids 1K Fun Run at 8:30 a.m. When the Festival kicks off at 10 a.m., so does the Amazing Whoopie Pie Race; a scavenger hunt modeled on the popular reality TV show “The Amazing Race.” In the Amazing Whoopie Pie Race teams hunt for, what else, Whoopie Pies. The teams are raising money for the Center Theatre and competing for prizes including $250 cash and a private movie party at the theatre.
Not only do the Whoopie Pies start flowing at 10, but the all the other crafters, vendors and artists open up as well. “We’ve been very happy to partner with the Piscataquis Chamber of Commerce to handle the downtown area,” Myers stated. “They close off the streets and provide space for local businesses and vendors from every corner of the state to set up booths. It’s a fun atmosphere with lots of great deals.”
In fact, there are great events and activities going on all over Dover-Foxcroft on Whoopie Pie Day. The Congregational Church is having a rummage sale, the Farmer’s Market is set up nearby, at Kiwanis Park a free children’s fishing event Hooked on Fishing Not on Drugs is being held and the Dover-Foxcroft Historical Society is kicking off their 2013 season with the grand opening of the Observer Building on Festival day. In another Whoopie-pie related activity, Will’s Shop ‘n Save will be raffling off a 50- pound Whoopie Pie this year on Festival Day. Just go to the store to enter for your chance to win.
But clearly, the focus of the day is the Whoopie Pie Festival and as Myers said there’s plenty to keep folks busy. This year the Festival will have live music within the festival area all day long. Playing during the festival will be local favorites the Monson Jammers and Sid Stutzman’s String Field Theory. Headlining the festival is the Steve Jones Band from Portland. The Portland Phoenix says of Steve Jones: “Jones’s work always seems fresh and interesting … rootsy ballads, rockabilly, swing, country waltzes, and old-time rock and roll. He’s got great taste and a world-weary delivery that’s especially good.” All the bands are free with the admission to the festival.
The Whoopie Pie Festival is truly a state-wide event with lots of support at every level. “We have bakers coming from nearly every county in Maine and from as far away as Wells. People can sample whoopie pies from local standouts like Governor’s Restaurant and LaBree’s bakery as well as smaller businesses they might not have heard of and even a few home-bakers.” The bakers get judged for best traditional and best non-traditional whoopie pie and everyone who attends the festival gets to vote for “The People’s Choice” for best baker.
New this year, the Dover-Foxcroft Healthy Maine Streets Committee is sponsoring a ‘Healthy Whoopie Prize’ which Myers admits may seem like an oxymoron, “There are lots of ways to make a whoopie pie healthier: organic ingredients, gluten free, or low fat options are all out there already. We have some very creative bakers in the festival and we’re very much looking forward to seeing what they can do to win this $100 prize,” he said.
The Maine Whoopie Pie Festival takes place on Saturday, June 22 in downtown Dover-Foxcroft from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Admission to the festival is only $5 with kids age 12 and under getting in for free. For more information on the Whoopie Pie Festival, which takes place rain or shine, visit the festival’s website at www.MaineWhoopiePieFestival.com or visit them on Facebook. You can also call the Whoopie Pie line at 564-8943 extension 411 with questions.
Healthy Maine Streets Dover-Foxcroft
to award Healthy Whoopie Prize
DOVER-FOXCROFT — The Healthy Maine Streets Wellness Committee through the town of Dover-Foxcroft is sponsoring the first “Healthy Whoopie Prize” at the 2013 Maine Whoopie Pie Festival on June 22. The prize, the brainchild of the local Dover-Foxcroft Healthy Maine Streets Committee, will award $100 to the baker at the festival who submits the best healthy whoopie pie as determined by the official festival judges.
Observer file photo/Stuart Hedstrom
CLIMB TIME — Children had the opportunity to ascend a rock wall and palm tree, as well as bungee and jump around in the bounce house, during last year’s Maine Whoopie Pie Festival. The 2013 event will include a number of activities in the Kid’s Whoopie Pie Zone.
Anne Ball, program coordinator for the statewide Healthy Maine Streets Program, is very excited that Dover-Foxcroft’s Healthy Maine Streets Committee is possibly the first organization in the world to offer a prize for a healthy whoopie pie, “When the Dover-Foxcroft Wellness Committee suggested the award we thought it was a perfect idea,” she said. “It not only shows a commitment to healthy choices but is a wonderful example of the kind of community vision and ingenuity that Healthy Maine Streets encourages as a way to create vibrant, healthy downtowns.”
While the term “healthy whoopie pie” might strike some as an oxymoron, there are many qualities that could help make a whoopie pie healthy according to Kristy Rizzitello, membership coordinator for the Piscataquis Regional YMCA and a member of the Dover-Foxcroft’s Healthy Maine Streets Committee, “The baker could use fruits or vegetables as part of their recipe or substitute wheat pastry flour for all-purpose white flour,” she said. “They could also make a gluten-free whoopie pie or an all organic whoopie pie. There are so many creative people in Maine and we’re excited to see what they bring to the festival.”
Healthy Maine Streets will build on the Maine Downtown Center’s well-established downtown revitalization framework of Main Street Maine organizations and Maine Downtown Network programs to strengthen small businesses by leveraging community health improvements in a number of mostly rural towns. Dover-Foxcroft is one of 20 participating towns in the state. Healthy Maine Streets is funded by the Community Transformation Grant Program through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This pilot project will continue until September 2014 and is an initiative of the Maine Development Foundation’s Maine Downtown Center, in collaboration with MCD Public Health.
The Maine Whoopie Pie Festival is the annual celebration of Maine’s Official State Treat, the Whoopie Pie. Festival organizer and self-proclaimed “Whoopie Pie Guy” Patrick Myers is thrilled by the new prize this year. “The whoopie pie is obviously not health food, but here at the Whoopie Pie Festival we firmly believe that it is all about making good choices. A healthy whoopie pie would certainly mean that we could choose to eat a few more whoopie pies and that has to be a good thing.”
While the focus of the festival is firmly on the whoopie pie, with dozens of bakers and thousands of pies, Myers says there are lots of other attractions as well, “We’ll have live music all day long, rides, games and activities for the kids, vendors artists and crafters for the adults and much more.” The festival supports the programming and activities of the Center Theatre for the Performing Arts in Dover-Foxcroft. More information can be found at www.MaineWhoopiePieFestival.com.
Hooked on Fishing in the morning
DOVER-FOXCROFT — In addition to enjoying a day of whoopie pies on June 22, children 15 and under can try their hand at fishing from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Kiwanis Park behind the PRYMCA on Park Street for a Hooked on Fishing event sponsored by Save-A-Lot.
Kids who have never fished before can try the sport — a limited supply is available for those without a rod or bait. For more information, please call 343-0503.
Celebrate the big day on Saturday
DOVER-FOXCROFT — It’s time to celebrate Maine’s official State Treat and the place to celebrate is none other than Dover-Foxcroft — the site of the Maine Whoopie Pie Festival. The annual festival brings bakers from all across the state to celebrate the taste of the whoopie pie along with thousands of whoopie pie enthusiasts from around the state, the country and the world. The festival is Saturday, June 22 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and general admission is only $5 with kids 12 and under free.
Observer photos/Stuart Hedstrom
EARN YOUR WHOOPIE PIES — The Piscataquis Regional YMCA’s Earn Your Whoopie Pie 3K starts at 8:45 a.m. June 22 on East Main Street in Dover-Foxcroft, with a children’s 1K run right before.
The Maine Whoopie Pie Festival has won several awards this year. The Festival was voted the winner of the 2013 About.com New England Travel Readers’ Choice Award for Best New England Festival or Event. The festival was also selected as one of the top events in Maine by AmericaTheBeautiful.com. AmericaTheBeautiful.com is the U.S. destination marketing agency and is a destination site for travelers from the U.S. and abroad planning trips and vacations.
This year’s festival will have many of the things people have come to expect and several exciting additions according to Patrick Myers, festival organizer, “We heard from people that besides a sunny day, what they really want to see at the festival are more things for kids and families to do. So this year we’re focusing on more games, events, and fun stuff all day long. We have so much for the kids to do, we’ver created a whole area called “The Kid’s Whoopie Zone. We will also have live music at the festival this year featuring the Steve Jones Band, String Field Theory and the Monson Jammers. The Piscataquis Regional YMCA is hosting their ‘Earn Your Whoopie Pie’ run and kid’s fun run in the morning.”
Also returning in 2013 will be the “Amazing Whoopie Pie Race.” This whoopie pie scavenger hunt, based on the reality TV show “The Amazing Race,” will pit teams of hunters against each other as they search for whoopie pies in various locations around Dover-Foxcroft to raise money for the Center Theatre. Anyone interested in the race can visit http://www.2013amazingwhoopierace.com/. As in previous years, the Piscataquis Chamber of Commerce is organizing vendors, crafters and artists downtown.
Of course there will be whoopie pie eating contests, music and over 10,000 whoopie pies that day as well. “It’s all about the Whoopie Pies and we’re just thrilled to have so many people want to come and celebrate with us,” Myers said, “We have more bakers registered to attend this year than any other year. We also couldn’t do it without our volunteers. We’re still recruiting volunteers to help the day of the festival, anyone who would like to sign up can go to www.mainewhoopiepiefestival.com and click on volunteers or leave their information on the Whoopie Pie line at the Center Theatre 564-8943 ext. 411. I’d also like to thank our lead sponsors: Garelick Farms, Zone Radio and Bangor Savings Bank. Without their support this day wouldn’t be nearly as sweet.”
Join the Amazing Whoopie Pie Race
DOVER-FOXCROFT — The organizers of the 2013 Maine Whoopie Pie Festival announced that for the second year they are hosting “The Amazing Whoopie Pie Race.” Teams that join The Amazing Whoopie Pie Race will compete to locate hidden whoopie pies in a festival-day scavenger hunt. The team that ends the hunt with the fastest combined time for finding all the hidden pies will win a $200 cash prize and the team that raises the most money overall will win a free movie party on the Center Theatre’s new Christie Solaria One digital projector.
File photo courtesy of Melissa Mallett
THE AMAZING WHOOPIE PIE RACE — Four teams took part in the 2012 Amazing Whoopie Pie Race, the Whip-Whoops, the Little Whoops, the Bowerbank Blazing Bullets and National Lampoon. Teams consisted of two to five members and needed to go to five locations in town and search for hidden whoopie pies after being given a clue. Only two members of each team could search a site. The locations were the Congregational Church, Center Theatre (needing to search the theatre with flashlights), True Value, the former Abel Bloods location and Will’s Shop ‘n Save. Teams were timed at each location and the team with the fastest time could win $250, however there was a tie so the Little Whoops and National Lampoon shared the prize. The Whip-Whoops won a movie party at the Center Theatre for raising the most money for the theatre, $352. Altogether $752 was raised and a great time was had by all. Pictured is the Whip-Whoops at the award ceremony, comprised of Andrew Johnston and Melissa Mallett and their children, from left, Devin, Benjamin and Ethan.
But the main objective of the race is to help raise money for Center Theatre, a 501(c)3 organization dedicated to bringing arts and cultural programming to the underserved rural communities of Piscataquis County. The Center Theatre started the Whoopie Pie Festival in 2009. Since then, the event has grown from a small local happening to a statewide celebration of Maine’s Official State Treat. The festival recently was voted best event or festival in New England by visitors to About.com and was named one of the top events in Maine by AmericatheBeautiful.com.
To be eligible for the race, every team needs to register in advance at www.2013AmazingWhoopieRace.com, a secure online fundraising website and collect at least $50 in donations. Anyone — families, students, coworkers, neighbors, clubs, businesses — can form a team and join the race.
The whole idea is to have a lot of fun doing it. Participants are encouraged to give their teams silly names and do things like wear costumes and funny hats on the day of the race. All the participating teams will receive 25 Whoopie Pie Festival tokens good for free whoopie pie samples as well as four free festival passes. Teams with more than four people can earn additional free passes based on how much money they raise.
Details about the event including how to register a team and start raising money are available at www.2013AmazingWhoopieRace.com.
The 2013 Maine Whoopie Pie Festival takes place on Saturday, June 22 and will feature dozens of bakers and tens of thousands of whoopie pies. Major festival sponsors include Garelick Farms, Bangor Savings Bank and Zone Radio.