Can you believe that the Montauk Fall Festival – now a highlight of Columbus Day weekends, boosting a “shoulder season” just as the Montauk Chamber had hoped – is approaching its 45th birthday?
The festival started in the 1970s as a Chili Cook-Off, according to Diane Hausman, who was a newbie in the early 1980s, having recently been elected, along with Carl Darenberg, to the Chamber’s Board of Directors.
Frank Capozzola, the president, asked the two “youngsters” to brainstorm ways to embellish the cook-off, and so face painting, pumpkin decorating, and other relatively small attractions were thrown in. The event was also moved from Deep Hollow Ranch to the Village Green.
A clam chowder competition was introduced in 1983, attracting hundreds of soup tasters and with the 1985 competition inspiring some mildly combative correspondence in the East Hampton Star:
In reply to a letter to the editor by Mr. Joel Stein:
Dear Joel Stein:
I am the executive chef at the Crow’s Nest Restaurant. Last week you wrote and published a letter stating that the Manhattan chowder you had at the Crow’s Nest last week was not the same one that won first place in the Montauk Chamber of Commerce annual chowder contest…
I have been in the seafood business for 35 years … and have always made (with pride) a great Manhattan chowder.
I would sell over 1,000 quarts a week to go, year after year.
Last year, I came in second place of all the restaurants that participated and only by a few votes. This year we won first place by a margin of two to one over second place chowder…
As to the day in question, the chowder you had was a slightly different recipe, but not much, than the one that won the contest. . . You obviously have a well educated palate.
I would like you to be my guest for lunch at the Crow’s Nest Restaurant and of course have some of our award-winning chowder.
Sincerely yours,
SKIP KELSEY
After the Montauk Playhouse Community Center Foundation, of which Diane was a founder, was created in 1999, its members asked to piggyback onto the Columbus Day celebration. Jimmy Hewitt, the owner of Shagwong and a member of the foundation’s board, came up with the idea of a “taste of Montauk,” according to Diane.
“Local restaurants participated with ‘small bite’ samples and the ‘Chinese auction’ was born as well for this event,” she said. “Virginia Galletta was the driving force behind that part of the festival.”
Over the years the Fall Festival grew to include, depending on the year, everything from a carousel to bouncy castles to live animals, as well as collaborations with organizations like AARP or the Montauk Garden Club or the Scouts. In the meantime, the Taste of Montauk evolved separately into a popular summer fundraiser.
This year’s Fall Fest will feature a farmers market, performances by local musicians, a silent auction, all sorts of kids’ activities and all sorts of refreshments, including beer and wine, and lots of fall-themed activities.
The event will be held on Saturday, October 10, and Sunday, October 11, on the Green, with the chowder contest running Saturday only. Commemorative mugs will be available for purchase before the event at the Chamber’s visitors’ center, and in front of the building beginning at 10 am on October 10. The contest itself starts at 11.
More about the Chamber’s history is on view in the library’s Local History Center. The Chamber has put together a memorable display of photographs, documents, and past years’ chowder mugs. Stop by after the festival.
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