Family traditions include fair food
By Kathy McCarty
FRED'S FOODS is a regular at the Northern Maine Fair, with staff serving up sausages and hotdogs with all the trimmings to delighted customers. For anyone who's ever eaten there, all you have to do is follow your nose to the distinct scent of grilled hotdogs, sausages, peppers and onions as they waft across the fairgrounds. Here, Frank Fulcher prepares a sausage sandwich, complete with onions and peppers.
PRESQUE ISLE — Everyone has to eat, but when it comes to fair food, there’s just something about it that draws you in, creating memories that last a lifetime.
Maybe it’s the flavors intermingled with the sights and sounds of the annual event. Or perhaps its the shared meals with loved ones. Whatever the reason, fair food vendors are some of the most popular people each year at the Northern Maine Fair in Presque Isle.
Fred’s Foods is a regular attraction, selling items like sweet or hot sausages loaded with peppers and onions or hotdogs with all the condiments. The smell alone is enough to get taste buds yearning for a bite. The people behind the grill take their work very seriously, taking pride in what they do.
“I’m from Conway, N.H. It’s my first time in The County. It’s great here. I like what I do, meeting new people,” said Frank Fulcher, one of several cooks working the grill for Fred’s Foods.
Fulcher said he’s been with Fred’s about a year and enjoys his work.
“It’s a great group of people to work with. I enjoy making people happy. A lot of folks tell me they come back year after year just for the sausages,” said Fulcher.
Like many of the other vendors, Fulcher’s found folks not only like to eat at the fair but also take food home with them.
“We get requests for orders to go. We use tinfoil to wrap orders so they’ll stay hot on the way home,” Fulcher said.
Eating out at the fair is a tradition for many families, whether it’s a meal, complete with French fries and a candy apple for dessert or lighter fare like a doughboy or ice cream.
Bobby Smith, of Presque Isle, spent the last day of the fair with his kids, stopping for a late afternoon snack.
“I prefer the pizza,” he said, as his daughter Ellie and son Sean enjoyed doughboys.
“My favorite is carmel apples,” said Ellie Smith, 7.
“I like the doughboys,” said Sean Smith, 5.
It’s become a family tradition for the Smiths to take something home to enjoy later as well.
“We usually get cotton candy for the ride home,” said Bobby Smith.
Ice cream was another popular treat this year for some.
“I like coffee ice cream,” said Jessica Henderson, 12, of Caribou.
“My favorite’s chocolate,” added her brother, Jaden Henderson, 7.
The Hendersons enjoyed the snacks, joined by their grandparents, Ray and Donna Doucette, of Caribou.
“We try to have ice cream every year,” said Ray Doucette. “My wife had raspberry this time and I chose chocolate. We enjoy doing this. It’s a great way to spend time with the kids.”
The annual event may be over, but the memories remain for those who took part, with many making plans to eat their favorite foods again at next year’s fair, continuing flavorful family traditions.
Staff photos/Kathy McCarty
SMITH FAMILY TRADITION — Eating at the fair is a tradition for many families, including the Smiths of Presque Isle. Here, father Bobby Smith takes a break while his children, Ellie, 7, and Sean, 5, enjoy doughboys.
LONG LINES didn’t deter people from partaking in their favorite treat at the fair this year. While some waited for doughboys and flavored ice, others preferred to wait for French fries, sandwiches and candied apples.
