While a large number of people leave their home for a few days for the Labor Day holiday weekend, between 30,000 and 35,000 planned to spend at least that Saturday right here in Hamburg. The 11th annual Taste of Hamburg-er Festival filled Downtown Hamburg on Aug. 30 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
“It went very well,” said Deena Kershner, executive director of Our Town Foundation which hosts the event each year. “From what I hear from the community, everybody was very pleased from the vendors to the store owners, to the community groups that participated, overall it was a success.”
This year’s festival added another stage (five total) and though it did not expand or necessarily add any additional planned contests, the number of vendors rose from around 210 to 250 offering even more for attendees. Some last minute activities were added such as a flash mob by Hamburg’s Dance Pointe Studio, a duck race to help raise money for the much needed roof repairs of The Hamburg Strand Theater and a smooch a pooch activity that also helped raise money for the theater.
“We focused on making it better,” said Kershner.
The festival is organized and run by a committee of about 13 as well as volunteers for that day. It is because of these committee members and volunteers that the festival continues to run smoothly with any little problems being handled quickly and efficiently.
“I think it’s organized well,” said Kershner. “The whole committee should get credit for everything they do because it is a very large undertaking. It’s a whole year of planning and especially the month before.”
The committee recently recruited two more members and meets once a month until the festival gets closer leading to more meetings. Anyone interested in getting involved or volunteering for the Taste of Hamburg-er Festival should contact the Our Town Foundation office at 610-562-3106.
One of Kershner’s favorite parts about the event is the entertainment, which she enjoyed throughout the day when she had the chance.
“I think the level of entertainment that we bring in, the quality of the entertainment and that we can provide it at no expense to the people coming in,” she said. “I think that’s my favorite part just watching the entertainment and of course the burger eating contest.”
This year Jamie “The Bear” McDonald, returning champion and record breaker, once again took home the trophy in the professional burger eating competition in which he broke his previous record by downing 13 full burgers and then some.
“It’s just amazing to me how many burgers these people can eat. And he broke the record this year,” added Kershner.
One of the other parts that Kershner enjoys is seeing the competitiveness between the stands when it comes to their burger creations. She suggested to people to be sure to check out the website (www.tasteofhamburger.com) before arriving at the event to pick which burgers they want to try and to make a plan to navigate the festival.
The festival is not only a fun day to enjoy the town and eat some great food while browsing items from local artists, crafters and vendors, but also a help to Hamburg.
“We continue to host the festival because we feel it’s great for the downtown businesses because it brings the 30,000 plus people to their front door,” she explained. “It’s great for the local organizations that participate because it provides an opportunity for them to raise money. It’s a fundraiser for OTF. It brings friends and family back home. I have numerous people that tell me something like ‘oh my daughter’s coming home Michigan.’ It brings people to the town and back to the family.”
“It brings awareness to the town. People see the beauty of the town and then they come back,” Kershner added. “It brings awareness of our town to outsiders and what we have to offer.”
With another successful Taste of Hamburg-er Festival down, it is onto the next upcoming events for the organization which includes a Downtown Wine Walk on Oct. 3, a Gala fundraiser for The Hamburg Strand Theater on Oct. 19 and a Murder Mystery Dinner on Nov. 8. Even with the upcoming events, planning and suggestions have already begun for the 12th annual Taste of Hamburg-er Festival.
For more information on OTF and upcoming events visit www.hamburgpa.org.
