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Hometown
Spotlight
by SEAN CONNEELY
The crowd at the Wild Blueberry
Festival in Mach us. Maine (pop. 2353 X buzzes with
anticipation as contestants take their
places for the much-heralded blue
berry pie-eating contest. Spectators
shout out last-minute eating advice
as participants steal sideways glances,
sizing up the competition. With their
hands behind their backs, 10 contes
tants skiwly bend forward, staring at
freshly baked blueberry pies. For two
minutes, contestants go mouth-first
into a pie-eating frenzy that leaves
their grinning faces smeared a dark
shade of blue.
A winning strafe
from a pie-eating
contestant.
“It’s our signature event," says Ron Beckwith, who
has organized the contest for the last two years. In
fact, the competition has become so popular that
Beckwith has employed a lottery drawing to
select contestants in four different age groups. j
“The best part is that there's no cash prize. Every- *
one does it for bragging rights,” he says. J
The festival, scheduled Aug. 17 to 19, originated in
1975 as a small fund-raiser for the Centre Street Con- '
gregational Church. It remains the
main fund-raiser for the church,
but has evolved and expanded to
include other local organizations,
such as the local Rotary Club and
the Chamber of Commerce.
In addition to raising money,
the festival celebrates the harvest
of the region’s most important
crop: lowbush wild blueberries.
In fact, Maine is the top producer
of wild blueberries in the United
States, harvesting some 74.6 million pounds last year.
As much as 70 percent of those blueberries grow along
the rocky coast and rolling hills of Washington Coun
ty. Since Mathias is the county seat, it has become the
unofficial Wild Blueberry Capital of the World.
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Maine is the top producer of wild blueberries in the United States, harvesting some 74.6 million pounds last year.
“Not much else will grow here. It's pretty poor soil,"
says Dell Emerson, who managed the University of
Maine's blueberry research facility in nearby Jonesboro
(pop. 594) for 25 years.
The lowbush blueberries, which stand less than a foot
high, thrive in the sandy, high-acid soil found in the
area. American Indians picked and sun-dried the
berries, and even used them to preserve deer
S£ meat.
“Now, because of die festival,” Emerson says,
IL “it seems like the whole country knows about
W wild blueberries.”
f Today, the festival has become a major attraction,
I boasting cooking contests, historical tours of Machias
and more than 200 craft booths. Some 20,000 visi
tors make their way from every comer of die country,
and from as far away as China and Africa, to sample
; all things blueberry: from blueberry salsa to blueberry
vinaigrette to blueberry soap—and, of course, plenty
! of blueberry pies and muffins.
I The town also celebrates its blueberry fame with
the Blueberry Musical Comedy. Each festival night,
! the Congregational Church is transformed into a
theater where the talents of Machias residents ranging
from ages 3 to 90 are put on display.
“If someone comes to see the musical once, they’re
hooked," says Doug Guy, who created and directed
, last year’s production.
The musical, which parodies life in Machias,
blends Broadway show tunes, gospel and popular
\ TO
songs—with some lyrics rewritten to put the focus on
blueberries—loosely tied together by, as Guy describes it
“an admittedly thin plot.”
During the day, visitors who are curious about the
source of die festival’s tasty namesake can explore area
forms. In 2(X)5, blueberry grower Lisa Hanscom began
offering tours of her family’s 64-acre blueberry form in
nearby Roque Bluffs (pip. 264). “I wanted people to see
how we grow and harvest blueberries,” says Hanscom,
whose great-grandfather began harvesting lowbush blue
berries in the early 1900 s.
Guests can walk through harvested blueberry fields,
learn about the traditional tools of the trade and even try
to rake some blueberries themselves.
“Hand raking lowbush blueberries is an important
tradition in Washington County,” she says. “The harvest
is a special time of year."
And with its mix of delicious blueberry treats and enter
taining activities, so is the Wild Blueberry Festival.
Sean Conneely is a writer in Reel Feather Lakes. Colo.
Click on this story at americanprofile.com to
comment, see more photos or access the
Wild Blueberry Festival website.
*WBm tM* ■ •
A pie-eating contest is a festival favorite in Machias, Maine.
RHBK-A731
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