DOVER — If you delight in fiddleheads, those delectable greens whose seasonal debut denotes the first true burst of spring to its many fans here, then you'll be among friends on Memorial Day Weekend at the Mount Snow Valley Chamber of Commerce's Vermont Fiddlehead Festival.
The event is brought to southern Vermont May 23-24 by the producers of the Vermont Wine and Harvest Festival.
In addition to a merchants' row, guests will enjoy live entertainment, bounce houses, a fiddlehead cooking contest with $500 in cash prizes, a fiddling contest with $500 cash prizes, the work of Vermont artists, a fiddlehead cooking class, and delicious festival food.
Fiddleheads, or fiddlehead greens, are harvested for use as a vegetable, and they have admirers worldwide. Some lobbied for this fern as the state vegetable of Vermont, festival organizers said in a press release.
Emerging as they do in early to mid-May here in Vermont, fiddleheads are most commonly harvested and eaten in the maritime provinces of Canada and in the northeastern United States, especially Maine and Vermont.
The Vermont Fiddlehead Festival celebrates the products, food, art, crafters and residents of Vermont. All Vermont businesses are welcome to participate in this showcase for Vermont in the southern Green Mountains.
Schedule highlights
Start your festival outing off right on Saturday, May 24, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Dover Forge Restaurant/OMT, 183 Route 100, West Dover. With the restaurant reopening for this event after its mud season closure, this is one not to miss. At $5 per person or $10 for the family, enjoy live entertainment, bounce houses, face painting, Vermont localvore foods, arts, crafts, and fiddleheads.
“Learn all about the delicacy that grows wild throughout the northern climates across the globe,” organizers say.
From 1 to 3 p.m. get in on the Twin Valley Junior Iron Chefs Fiddlehead Contest, which is open to all ages. Categories are in “pickled” and “cooked,” and according to the event's website, $700 in cash prizes is offered.
For contest applications, rules, and more information, write [email protected].
The first annual Vermont Fiddlehead Festival Fiddling Contest is set for 7 p.m. at 4 Mountain Park Plaza in West Dover. You'll hear contestants from across the country compete for Vermont's top fiddler.
Classes are by age and style. For more information, and tickets, call 802-464-8092.
Sunday, May 25, brings the annual Make a Wish Duck Race at Wilmington Village. Tickets are available starting at 10:30 a.m., and ducks launch around 12:30 p.m.
“Face painting, kids' prizes, and winning ducks get you loads of contributed items from local stores, restaurants, and more,” say organizers.
Has anyone mentioned chocolate yet? Ah. With the fiddlehead festival comes the Vermont Chocolate Festival, which runs noon to 5 p.m. both days at Avigliano at Honora Winery, 1778 Collins Rd., West Halifax.
The Vermont Fiddlehead Festival Block Party and Salsa Contest, free to all, heats up Sunday at South Main Street in Wilmington. The street is closed off and locals and visitors alike can celebrate all things fiddlehead. The band plays from 5:30 to 8 p.m.
Want to be top salsa cook? Sign up to participate in the salsa cooking contest. You must offer three to five gallons of product to try for bragging rights and cash prizes - $300 for first place; $200 for second place; $50 for third place; and $100 for best presentation.
Competition is free, but write [email protected] to register and for more information.
If you're not competing in that salsa contest, by the way, a simple $5 donation makes you a contest judge. Take your bowl of tortillas and start sampling. The winner is announced at 7:30.
Finally, organizers recommend you check out the Memorial Day service set for Monday, May 26, at 10 a.m. at Memorial Hall Wilmington, presented by the American Legion Nelson E. Pickwell Post #15.
The Memorial Day parade starts at 11:15 a.m. at 1836 Country Store and heads east to the high school.