Fourth festival food isn't only about comfort. Contestants feel the burn during the Stikine Inn's first-ever hot wings competition. Dubbed "Seven Steps to Hades," participants paid in $20 for a seven-course lesson in pungency, having to eat pairs of wings covered in increasingly spicy concoctions, and endure the burn without water between each set in three-minute increments. For those making it through to the finish, they got their money back and a complimentary t-shirt.
Members of the Wrangell golf board grill up enough brats to feed an army on July 4. Their booth was one of the 19 different places offering eats around the Front Street pavilion during July 4 festivities, with more scattered around town.
During its extensive Independence Day celebrations, Wrangell provides plenty of opportunity for children and adults alike to have fun. More than parades and fireworks displays, the event features a whole host of opportunities for good eating.
One of its key highlights over the four-day weekend was the "Welcome Home Picnic" in Shoemaker Park on Sunday, for instance, giving reunited families and out-of-town friends the chance to catch up over a potluck, exchange some stories, and get their newest additions together for a baby photo-shoot.
For the Fourth itself, a whole village of food vendors pitch tents in and around Wells Fargo and the Elks' parking lots. It tends to get ransacked by hungry people over the course of July 4 following the annual parade.
One of this culinary community, on the Lodge's north side Coco Massin set up tables for her Hometown Shrimp, providing a sampling of the outlying waters' tasty crustaceans.
"I wanted to do this because I have so many friends and family that come home for the Fourth, and they live in different places where they don't get our shrimp," Massin explained. "So I said I'm going to do this in honor of the homecoming people for the Fourth."
One of the longest traditions for Wrangell's Fourth has been its pie stand, which this year was run by women from Beta Sigma Phi and the Wrangell Medical Center Auxiliary. Beta took over the task in 1983, from the former Civic Club.
Today the two groups use the funds to support their various initiatives, such as the pediatric teddy bear program. Members and various other donors from around the community prepare a wide assortment of the baked desserts, which people can buy whole or else enjoy by the slice.
"It's a tradition. People will buy the pies and take them home for their Fourth of July dinners," explained Kris Reed, working at the booth.
Over in a tent just behind them, parishioners of St. Rose of Lima Catholic Parish sling burgers for hungry festival-goers. Keene Kohrt explained their stand has been an institution for the holiday since before the 1960s. The money their hamburgers – lately dubbed 'holy burgers' – bring in goes toward upkeep of the parish church, "wherever we need it."
Muskeg Meadows Golf Course helps keep its fairways fair by selling bratwurst, something it's been doing for over a decade. Before becoming a tradition, Dick Angerman said their food was at first picked for its niche appeal. "Well, nobody had them in those days, and they're a good seller," he recalled.
Next door neighbors, volunteers with the Alaska Peace Officers Association served up a traditional American meal for the holiday. "We do barbecue chicken, corn on the cob, and your choice of potato salad or macaroni salad. Same thing we've done for the past 17 years," explained Doug McCloskey. "Good Fourth of July food. Traditional."
The money raised by the APOA returns to the community through different programs, such as its annual scholarship.
New traditions may also be in the making, with a number of vendors setting up their booths for the very first time this year.
Ae and Bee Martinsen set up their stand for Thai food, a cuisine from their homeland they periodically serve at the Diamond C. Their booth by the Stikine on Monday, and over on the Elks' south side Tuesday, Bee explained some aspects of the stand were easier than others.
"The spot is easy, you know, but the food needs lots of prep," she explained. "Everything is prepped by hand, and uses Thai ingredients."
Just across the lot from them, Larissa Siekawitch and Jamie Roberts sold fresh pelmeni, a Siberian dumpling from the former's homeland. The piping hot little meat pastries are served up with an assortment of condiments, depending on the patron's taste, either traditionally with sour cream and chives or sriracha or curry powder giving it more of a kick.
"This is my first time partnering up with Larissa, she has done this before," Roberts pointed out. Their stand's sales would be going to a good cause. "We're raising money for the kids in our Wrangell Swim Club programs, so they can travel to some meets this season. This is our second year for competition."
"It's really great to see all the variety," commented Brian McCloskey, who with his wife, Yuri, has been selling tacos el pastor for the past five years.
Originally from Mexico City, she explained the dish – which literally means "shepherds tacos" – is now a traditional dish found in central Mexico, but actually has its roots in the country's Greek community.
"The Greeks came to Mexico. They were trying to replicate their food but they couldn't find all their ingredients," Yuri said. The pork she and Brian use is cooked on a spit, in a similar style to that used in a kebab or gyro. "It's been marinated in vinegar, pineapple juice, peppers – all kinds of goodies. It's flavorful but not spicy," she added.
For her husband, the Fourth is a time to come together as a community and relax. "Comfort and community," he said. "Everybody shows up and we get to see all these faces and enjoy other people's culinary gifts. It's also a time when everybody's niche food comes out."
Other stands and tables extend along Front Street, with a similar mission in mind. The Meissner family sold fried halibut at their roadside crab shack, something they've done since daughter Darien had run for queen in 2014. Best known for its Dungeness crab salad, Greg Meissner said the booth had taken on new life after the competition due to popular demand.
"We're just serving the people," he said. For their part, the family enjoy being able to catch up with people over the holiday weekend. "It's a good time to visit."
Across the street, Nikka Mork, with John Hurst and their son Jonah Hurst, sell lemonade at their balloon stand. A relatively new venture, Mork explained they decided to do the stand after their son's stand on Lemonade Day had proven a hit. A traditional summertime beverage, she thought it was a nice, non-alcoholic addition to the festive atmosphere.
"It's something fun to drink, and I added blueberry lemonade to make it more local," she said.
Outside the Wrangell gallery, Sandy Massin produces another traditional favorite, cotton candy. Since happening upon a candy flosser while in Juneau, she's been doing it now for the past decade.
Massin explained she likes running the stand "to visit with friends and have fun. It's fun to see the kids, and they enjoy the cotton candy."
As did many of the other vendors, Angerman felt food was a central part of Wrangell's holiday. "I think it adds to the atmosphere. Especially if there's sunshine, everybody is congenial, everybody's having whatever they have, everybody enjoys it. I think that's what it's all about, celebrating freedom."
Reader Comments(0)