Food Vendors—Tempters of the Tastebuds—to be Inducted into Festival Hall of Fame

Sausage sandwiches, elephant ears, apple dumplings, lamb dinners, pepperoni puffs, meatball sandwiches … hungry yet?

For some Festival goers, the best part of the event is the food.

“Some people just go to the Festival for the food,” said Raylene Boots, Festival Chairwoman. “Everyone has a favorite.”

There are some “booths” that are well known … maybe even famous around Ellwood City’s Festival. Festival Hall of Fame Inductees Wolves, Rotary, and First United Methodist are truly among those daydream-worthy booths that push the salivary glands into overdrive.

The Wolves Club members take a break from serving food during the 2018 Festival.

But more than just mouthwatering foods, these booths have a mission to give back to the community. Boots said that the local “club” booths earmark the profits for scholarships and other beneficial community programs.

“I think it is important for people to know that when they buy food from these local groups, 100% of that money comes back into the community,” Boots said.

All three of the 2019 food inductees have been part of the Festival since the beginning, and although there have been some changes over the years, each one has secured a sacred spot in Festival history.

The Wolves Club

The Wolves Club actually built its own shelter to facilitate the yummy eats and expand its menu over the years. They now offer an array of lip licking goodness ranging from delicious fish to juicy lamb dinners.

Wolves President Michael DeOtto believes the Wolves signature dish is the fish. The beer battered fish comes in a sandwich or a dinner. He said another popular choice is the lamb dinner, which comes with a homemade tomato salad, a pepper salad, and french fries. DeOtto said the booth serves about 1,000 pounds of lamb, 700 pounds of fish, and between 400 and 500 sandwiches each year.

But for him and the members, it is giving back and the hard work that has the most weight.

“It’s a means of us having comradery and putting in hard work to reach a common good for what we stand for,” he said. “It’s a means of uniting the city of Ellwood. The Festival in general is a way of keeping us all together.”

Comradery isn’t shortsighted when it comes to the Wolves, of the 74 members of the Ellwood City chapter, DeOtto estimates that 40 to 50 of those members are involved in the Festival in some way. And, although the local chapter is only open to male members, he said wives help out at the booth (they make that famous tomato salad).

DeOtto said four original members will accept the induction. And although they are in their 90s, they are active members.

“They are vibrant,” DeOtto said. “And they are still a big part of the Festival.”

The Rotary

Who can forget those iconic sausage sandwiches … that crisp bite of sausage and bun? Once known as “The Best Deal in the Park,” offering a free drink with the purchase of a sandwich at the lowest prices among the sandwich vendors, according to Rotary President Dave Braymer, times have changed a bit and with competition from other vendors and saturation of sandwich offerings, they were forced to make a change and now sell Root Beer Floats and Orange Creamsicle Floats as well as other soft drinks.

And yes, while the foods and beverages are obviously important, Braymer said the picture is much bigger than belly filling goodies.

Festival goers enjoy a snack under the tree in Ewing Park.

“The proceeds from the weekend fund projects for the community and provide scholarships and leadership programs for students at both Lincoln and Riverside High Schools,” he said. “While fundraising may have been the primary purpose at one time, the tradition of the festival is now just as important.  The Festival has become such a significant part of the community and our participation as an anchor organization helps keep the tradition alive.  We feel as though we are one of the many organizations that are helping to keep the Festival tradition alive and well.”

Boots said Rotary has done much more for the Festival than just feeding its goers. Rotary is the group responsible for building the Joseph Falino Entertainment Facility, the very stage were the famed Festival entertainment performs.

Ellwood City United Methodist Church

Who could forget those warm, cinnamon sauce covered, gooey, apple dumplings topped with rich and divine vanilla ice cream. Ellwood City’s First United Methodist Church was known for years for the comforting dumplings. Suggested by Peg Kimpel, during a time when the church was trying to find their iconic contribution, the apple dumplings have gone down in history as one of the favorite deserts served on the Ewing Park grounds.

Steven Miller, who served as the church’s food booth chair for 12 years, said those dumplings met the mouths of between 1,800 to 2,500 Festival goers each year and many were repeat customers year after year.

Boots recalls the dumplings being a nearly yearlong “labor of love.” She said the church’s preparation for the Festival began in early fall when the coveted apples for the dumplings were chosen and transformed into the beloved product that Festival goers delighted in. She said that yearlong process included constructing the dumplings, freezing them in preparation for the Festival, then bringing the thousands of scrumptious treats to the park to be cooked on the grill and served to awaiting customers.

“If you never had one, you are truly missing something,” Boots said.

Unfortunately as times have changed and years have passed, a lack of help has forced the church to give up their apple dumpling selling at the Festival. Boots said apple dumplings are available at the festival, but not through the church. They are a memory that must live on in history.

Miller said it was mostly the elements (heat) that has prevented an aging congregation from having a physical presence at the Festival. He did say that the dumplings aren’t completely lost though, for those who must have a dumpling, there is a sale at the church on Saturday July 6 from 1 to 4 p.m. Miller admits the sale at the church won’t be the same as being part of the Festival.

“We are sad that we aren’t going to be there,” he said. “We are going to miss it. It’s been a lot of fun.”

The Festival is rich with history as well as traditions, according to Boots, and those who want to learn more about the Festival should get a Festival book which features articles about all of the inductees and the whos, whats, whens, wheres, and whys of the Festival.

The Festival’s Hall of Fame Induction will take place at 1 p.m. on June 29.