Sweet days are coming
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Theresa Curry / News Virginian
Published: June 27, 2007
This year's event is July 28 at the Stuarts Draft Park in the middle of town, and a full day of family-oriented, down-home activities is planned for Stuarts Draft residents and their friends and neighbors. There are all the wonderful activities associated with a hometown festival - a softball tournament for local businesses, family games, a pancake breakfast, music, food vendors, artisans, a rock-climbing wall and free bingo. Since the start in 2005, there have also been some offbeat features truly unique to this sweet town.
Well aware of the considerable sugar power of the products made by McKee Foods and Hershey Chocolates of Virginia, Sweet Dreams organizers incorporated some special events based on the products of these progressive companies.
First, there's a baking contest with a local twist. Each cook is required to stir, melt, blend or crumble at least one product of these Stuarts Draft industries into the batter to enter the "cookies and bars," "cakes," "bread and muffins," "cheesecakes, "pies" or "other" categories. The contest has tested the considerable creative powers of the community, and some truly imaginative entries have ended up in front of the contest's professional judges.
Finding a baking ingredient made by Hershey Chocolates is no problem: after all, that's what Hershey's is known for. Using McKee Foods "Little Debbies" is a little trickier. How do you make a cake, a pie, a muffin or a cookie from something that is, after all, already a cookie- The techniques employed by contest winners have been impressive. So far, the popular cookies have been crumbled on top of tarts, pressed into crusts for cheesecake, folded into puddings for extra texture; even blended into smoothies as a thickening agent.
Another event with a unique Stuarts Draft personality is the "Little Debbie Look-Alike Contest," a contest that defies traditional beauty pageants with its campy character. Contestants may wear wigs, are not required to display any talent and will be judged solely on their resemblance to the girl on the cookie box. Judges will examine clothes, hair, accessories and general appearance before picking a winner in the preschool (up to five years old) and youth (6-12) categories. The striking look-alikes from previous years are not allowed to enter again (sorry, Berkeley Tyree and Ashley Rodgers, who won the 2006 preschool and youth categories, respectively).
Other winners from last year's 5k run, horseshoe, bake-off and softball competitions are already running, pitching, baking and batting in preparation for these hard-fought local contests. Last year's softball winners, Donahue's Trophy and Sports (for the small businesses) and McKee Foods (for the industries) are meeting challengers again, and expecting intense competition from DuPont Community Credit Union, Wade's Flooring and Best Buy. Some of the 5k run winners are returning to defend their titles in Boys Pre-Teen, Boys 13-18, Men's Open, Girls Pre-Teen and Girls 13-18 categories. Neil Bridge, with the overall fastest time and new course record of 16.55 was the fastest runner last year.
Kathy Stout McQuain, the Assistant Director for Augusta County Parks and Recreation, who heads up departments's involvement in the event, said there will be a dunking booth offering the public the opportunity to submerge yet-to-be determined staff from The News Virginian and Channel 29.
The local products produced by Stuarts Draft sweet manufacturers will be on hand everywhere, but other food will also be available, McQuain said. "We have an ice cream that was created just for this event by Klines, called Sweet Cherry Kiss." Other vendors will feature hamburgers, chips, sodas, sliced pork, pizza, water, baked goods, cotton candy, barbecued chicken, pork rinds, smoothies, cheese steak hoagies, nachos, hot dogs, country ham, kettle corn and funnel cakes.
Applications for contests and the craft fair can be picked up at the Augusta County Dept. of Parks and Recreation, or printed from the Web site at http://www.co.august.va.us. The Web site also has all the contest rules and other activities planned for Sweet Dreams Day in Stuarts Draft.
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