fbpx
  • Subscribe & Support
  • Sign up for Free Newsletter
  • Print Edition
    • Get Home Delivery
    • Read ePaper Online
    • Newsstand Locations
  • HV1 Magazines
  • Contact
    • Advertise
    • Customer Support
    • Submit A News Tip
    • Where’s My Paper?
  • Manage HV1 Account
  • Free HV1 Trial
  • Holiday Gift Subscription
Hudson Valley One
  • News
    • Schools
    • Business
    • Sports
    • Crime
    • Politics & Government
  • What’s Happening
    • Calendar Of Events
    • Featured Events
      • Art
      • Books
      • Kids
      • Lifestyle & Wellness
      • Food & Drink
      • Music
      • Nature
      • Stage & Screen
  • Opinions
    • Letters
    • Columns
    • Editorials
  • Local
    • Special Sections
    • Local History
  • Marketplace
    • All Classified Ads
    • Help Wanted
    • Post a Classified Ad
  • Obituaries
  • Podcast
  • Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Schools
    • Business
    • Sports
    • Crime
    • Politics & Government
  • What’s Happening
    • Calendar Of Events
    • Featured Events
      • Art
      • Books
      • Kids
      • Lifestyle & Wellness
      • Food & Drink
      • Music
      • Nature
      • Stage & Screen
  • Opinions
    • Letters
    • Columns
    • Editorials
  • Local
    • Special Sections
    • Local History
  • Marketplace
    • All Classified Ads
    • Help Wanted
    • Post a Classified Ad
  • Obituaries
  • Podcast
  • Log In
No Result
View All Result
Hudson Valley One
No Result
View All Result

Salsa contest a hit despite chilly rain at Reformed Church Apple Festival

by Rob Rubsam
October 11, 2014
in Community
0
Susan Kraat organized the Huguenot Street Apple Festival’s first salsa-making contest. Here she helps good sport Gabriel Gedler with a taste. (photo by Lauren Thomas)
Susan Kraat organized the Huguenot Street Apple Festival’s first salsa-making contest. Here she helps good sport Gabriel Gedler with a taste. (photo by Lauren Thomas)

Huddling under tents to get out of the rain, a diminished crowd flocked to Saturday’s Apple Festival at the New Paltz Reformed Church. As the downpour waxed and waned, people made their way between tents, tasting treats and looking at crafts. Between the church’s Doric columns, bands played Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young covers.

This is the festival’s 25th iteration, and while many traditional activities were honored, including selling pies and hosting vendors, the event’s organizers tried new ones too. Festival coordinator Kym Tiffany presided over a silent auction, with prizes including a $100 “Compass Rose Clock” by local artist Leonie Lacouette and a handcrafted bracelet with Swarovski pearls from Mélange. This was the auction’s first year, and by midafternoon several items were approaching their retail prices.

Most notably new, however, was the Apple Salsa contest. For two dollars, anyone could try each of the ten different salsas submitted by the public, scooping the condiment onto chips, pita bread and pork rinds. Bowls of yogurt with parsley stood by in case anyone might overload on the spice.

I tried all of them, and came back for seconds on several. The names of each salsa’s creator were kept hidden so as not to bias the voting process. My favorite was the Indonesian Empire, sharp and spicy, but all were good: The Snappy Salsa was almost like applesauce, while an Apple-and-Chile salsa clashed sweet and spicy flavors. Many were made with local ingredients.

Susan Kraat stood behind the table all afternoon, describing the process to anyone who might be interested. The salsa contest replaced a former apple pie bakeoff, she said, because the earlier contest often got “too contentious” and created a conflict with the pies being sold by the church. “Piemaking contests can be innately fraught with unhappiness,” said Kraat. “We’ll try it this year,” she added, “and see where it goes.”

Kraat and Tiffany were part of a team of volunteers who ran the whole event, from the junior choir members selling apple fritters to the older men making apple butter around a garbage-can fire, huddled against the cold. For Kraat, that sense of community made the event. “It’s more about spending time with people,” she said. Together they peel apples, bake, advertise and set up. Working together, said Kraat, is “all fun.”

According to Tiffany, the Apple Festival is the Reformed Church’s largest fundraiser for the year, and all money spent on apple pies, hamburgers and at the silent auction is donated directly to the church. The rain directly impacted how much money the church raised, but those present remained upbeat. “It is what it is,” said Kraat, “and we need the rain.”

Vendors, typically out on Historic Huguenot Street, were cloistered in the school building across the road. Anyone could vend, provided that they paid a $35 fee. I noticed American Girl Doll clothes, soap, scented soy candles. Carolyn Steele vended her ceramic coasters and crafts, something that she does as a “hobby and side business.” She attends local craft fairs, and this marked her second year at the Apple Festival. Though the rain dampened her sales, she remained optimistic. “I’m still making some sales,” she said, “and it seems like everybody’s still in a good mood.”

After voting closed at 4 p.m., the salsa contest’s winner was announced: Cheryl Alloway’s Island Valley Tango salsa, a fruity and sweet concoction with chunks of mango. For her efforts, she was awarded a $25 gift certificate to Russo’s Deli. Despite the rain and the damp and the newness of the contest, Kraat was impressed by the outcome. All told, 50 votes were cast: “Not bad,” she said, “for conditions!”

Join the family! Grab a free month of HV1 from the folks who have brought you substantive local news since 1972. We made it 50 years thanks to support from readers like you. Help us keep real journalism alive.
- Geddy Sveikauskas, Publisher
Previous Post

Slugfest in Lake Katrine

Next Post

Slideshow: Mum Festival

Rob Rubsam

Related Posts

The equinox and the Harvest Moon
Community

Saugerties Snow Moon parade postponed until Sunday due to weather

February 4, 2023
Visit Kingston’s 12,240-square-foot squat, centrally located with wood-burning fireplace
Community

Visit Kingston’s 12,240-square-foot squat, centrally located with wood-burning fireplace

February 3, 2023
Saugerties to host inaugural Snow Moon Festival February 3 to 5
Community

Saugerties to host inaugural Snow Moon Festival February 3 to 5

February 2, 2023
Not-So-Sweet Fundraiser returns to Saugerties Animal Shelter
Community

Not-So-Sweet Fundraiser returns to Saugerties Animal Shelter

February 1, 2023
Neighbors protest Ulster County Veterans’ Cemetery flagpole spotlights
Community

Neighbors protest Ulster County Veterans’ Cemetery flagpole spotlights

February 1, 2023
Year three of Black History Month Kingston continues crucial conversation
Community

Black History Month Kingston: Art, music, culture, and empowerment take center stage

February 3, 2023
Next Post

Slideshow: Mum Festival

Trending News

  • One-man crime spree comes to end after Kingston man runs out of luck 3.7k views
  • Saugerties to host inaugural Snow Moon Festival February 3 to 5 2k views
  • Visit Kingston’s 12,240-square-foot squat, centrally located with wood-burning fireplace 1.7k views
  • The Bruynswyck Inn Oyster & Clam Bar offers fresh seafood and Shawangunk views 1.6k views
  • 20-foot, 10-wheel big rig overturns in Saugerties, injuring driver 1.2k views
  • Three-story, mixed-use building proposed for Agway property in New Paltz 1k views

Weather

Subscribe

Independent. Local. Substantive. Subscribe now.

  • Subscribe & Support
  • Sign up for Free Newsletter
  • Print Edition
  • HV1 Magazines
  • Contact
  • Manage HV1 Account
  • Free HV1 Trial
  • Holiday Gift Subscription

© 2022 Ulster Publishing

No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Schools
    • Business
    • Sports
    • Crime
    • Politics & Government
  • What’s Happening
    • Calendar Of Events
    • Featured Events
      • Art
      • Books
      • Kids
      • Lifestyle & Wellness
      • Food & Drink
      • Music
      • Nature
      • Stage & Screen
  • Opinions
    • Letters
    • Columns
    • Editorials
  • Local
    • Special Sections
    • Local History
  • Marketplace
    • All Classified Ads
    • Help Wanted
    • Post a Classified Ad
  • Obituaries
  • Podcast
  • Subscribe & Support
  • Contact Us
    • Customer Support
    • Advertise
    • Submit A News Tip
  • Print Edition
    • Read ePaper Online
    • Newsstand Locations
    • Where’s My Paper
  • HV1 Magazines
  • Manage HV1 Account
  • Log In
  • Free HV1 Trial

© 2022 Ulster Publishing