Via Community News Service, in partnership with Vermont State University Castleton
RUTLAND – The streets were packed with a crowd of local and out-of-state attendees who wandered up and down the streets, experiencing delicious treats from a variety of bakery stands.
Rutland’s fourth annual Whoopie Pie Festival filled Center Street and Merchants Row on Saturday, Sept. 13. The festival, organized by the Chamber and Economic Development of the Rutland Region, drew numerous people over a four-hour period to the many bakeries and activities that took place.
Many of the bakeries were returning contestants for the best whoopie pie and came to bring their best efforts once again.
“I’ve done it every year,” owner of Vermont Gluten Free Chris Lacroix said as a customer exclaimed “This is gluten-free?” in amazement.
Lacroix claimed that gluten-free options are very popular at the festival.
“People are wandering around lost, looking for gluten-free, and when they see me, they’re usually pretty excited,” he said.
There were some promising newcomers who felt up for the challenge this year.
“This is our first year,” Thrive Cakery owner Jasmine Mendez said. “We drove four hours from Rhode Island.”
Thrive Cakery certainly gave the other bakers a run for their money as customers continued to pack the stand throughout the entirety of the event.
Sara Rasmussen tasted her favorite whoopie pie from there.
“It was a maple with oatmeal in it,” she said as she finished her bite of a sample. “I’m gonna pick up two whole ones to bring back.”
Another newcomer who had been thrilled to finally enter the festival was Steven’s Farm Fruits and Market. Co-owner Kristen Widli explained how they had two stands presenting their goods this year.
“We’re typically set up at the (Vermont Farmers Market). We’ve wanted to enter this many times and we finally have the opportunity,” she said with excitement.
The Rutland Free Library also entered the festival this year, hoping to spread awareness about the community and wow citizens with their gingerbread whoopie pies.
“This is our first try,” said Library Director Randal Smathers. “We baked 310 whoopie pies yesterday.”
Smathers said he felt that the festival was the perfect place to not only delight a community with delicious treats, but to also educate and communicate awareness about the community using visual posters and other “swag.”
“This is such a big deal,” he said. “We had to be a part of it.”
The festival hosted all sorts of activities, such as a play area for children, a whoopie pie eating contest and a voting poll for best whoopie pie. Some people walked around on stilts and a couple of festival workers dressed as Chewbacca and Michelin Man. But perhaps one of the biggest shows of the event was the street performer and comedian act, The Real McCoy.
The star of the act, Brent McCoy, stunned the crowd with his stunts, like knife juggling while balancing on a ball.
The performer also drew laughter from the crowd as he used humor and sarcasm to shrug off mistakes and avoid acts too dangerous to attempt.
He would tease a trick he might attempt for the audience, and then simply sabotage it. One such act involved asking the audience to move back as McCoy sprinkled gasoline in a circle in front of the audience, seemingly getting ready to set it ablaze. But McCoy stopped and joked that the substance was just water.
This was McCoy’s second year performing in Rutland and he did not disappoint.
McCoy said he hoped to leave the crowd feeling enthused and entertained.
He explained at the end of his act that in a world divided by harsh opinions, it is important to acknowledge these community events and connect with one another in an environment unburdened by political differences, even if just for a little while.