CALEB NICKERSON
ALLUMETTE ISLAND
July 13, 2018
On July 13, Trimmer’s Fries on Allumette Island hosted their third annual celebration to mark National French Fry day, bringing out hundreds of people to eat, and enjoy their favorite tuber.
Owner Cheryl Smith explained that as soon as she learned there was a day to honour the humble fried potato, she knew she had to celebrate.
“I didn’t want to just do it on my own so we partnered with a community organization,” she explained. “This year we partnered with the 4H Club of Allumettes Island. They had a petting zoo, pony rides. They really added to it, which was a lot of fun.”
Local youngsters could try their hand at creating a Mr. Potato Head, or hop in the potato sack race.
Tickets were sold on a patio set to raise money for the local 4H Club, and Smith explained that the winner wouldn’t be drawn until their Christmas in July party, to be held on July 25.
She said that since the area is historically an agricultural region, and she herself was raised on a farm, she felt the local 4Hers were deserving of a little fundraising.
To finish off the celebrations there was a french fry eating contest, a highly anticipated and competitive event, pitting man against food. Eight local youngsters participated in the 15 and under division, while Mike Wein faced off against defending champ Noah Vaillancourt in the senior division. Each competitor received a box of taters still piping hot from the fryer oil (large for the juniors, extra large for the seniors), and a bottle of water.
Noah’s younger brother Sam came out the victor in the junior division, using a technique of watering down his fries in the box, to cut down on chewing time. The challenger Wien managed to knock off the older Vaillancourt to claim the senior potato trophy, which doubled as a $25 gift certificate at Trimmer’s.
“You have to bring in your potato though,” Smith said at the awards ceremony to a gale of laughter.
Looking back on the day, she was pleased with how the day nationwent.
“We got a little rain this afternoon, but really, it was the perfect day for it, not too hot,” she said, before heading back into the warmth of the kitchen.
Duty calls.
