Just a few weeks before the 42nd Tea Party Festival, a couple of the Festival’s largest food vendors decided they can no longer participate due to a lack of volunteers. The Optimists, who sold crab cakes and fried clam strips, as well as Christ United Methodist Church who supplied the crowd with pit beef and a variety of kabobs, will not be at the Festival this year. Both organizations had a very large set-up and were known to feed many of the visitors
Tea Party president Sabine Harvey is worried. “Especially with the Clydesdales coming, we are expecting a larger crowd than usual,” she said. Even in regular years, the lines for food can be long and food vendors do sell out well before the end of the day. Harvey wonders how the Festival will feed and please the expected visitors.
Food vendor spots at the Festival are reserved for Kent County non-profit organizations. There are no upfront costs, but after the Festival each organizations pays 15% of their net profits back to the festival to cover the costs of insurance, security, port-a-potties, equipment, advertising, entertainment and much more. Organizations are asked to sell a signature dish which is preferable not the same as dishes that others are already selling. In addition, any organization can sell burgers, hotdogs and fries. If worse comes to worse, Harvey is considering breaking with tradition and asking local establishments to set up a food booth.
Any non-profit organization that is interested in participating in the Tea Party Festival can contact Harvey at [email protected]. The registration form is also available on the Festival’s website, chestertownteaparty.org
Ruby Brown says
Too bad the town made it so difficult for Food Trucks to succeed. Food Trucks along Monument Row would have been an excellent fit… Maybe it’s not too late to put out a call!
ann miller says
Agreed.
T Mitchell Griggs says
Seems like food trucks might be a great alternative for 2019- especially since trucks have large followings and do great social Marketing – driving tourism and revenue . Non profits are not in the food production business. Bake sales are one thing, but Festival production an entirely different model. Food, wine, and beer tourism is the nation’s largest tourism generator. Smart marketing would leverage this.