The Official Newspaper for Foster County
The Official Newspaper for Foster County
A sampling of some of the tasty pasta dishes to be had are seen here at the 8th Avenue & Main PastaFest in Carrington, held Thursday afternoon, October 17.
Main Street was the place to be for all the tasty goodness at PastaFest.
Taylor Skytland and Scott Tweed of Bank Forward were presented with the champion's Community Choice plaque for the business's winning dish, "shotgun shells", featuring lasagna stuffed with sausage and cheese and wrapped in bacon.
Hope Carr, owner of Lioness, earned the second place plaque for her macaroni and cheese with brisket.
Headlocks Bar placed third with their chicken noodle soup dish. Pictured are Jessica McCullough, Karmen Freeman and Dennis Freeman, Headlocks owner.
Carrington, N.D. – October 18, 2024
A newly-created festival on Carrington's Main Street could promise to become the Central City's new mid-October 'thing'.
The inaugural 8th Avenue & Main Pasta Fest brought out the culinary genius of area business leaders within a two-block radius between 8th and 10th Avenue Thursday evening, October 17, from 4-7 p.m.
A total of 12 different pasta dishes were available to sample for free during the event. Visitors to Pasta Fest were able to purchase tickets at Carrington City Library to vote for their favorite pasta dishes, and deposited those tickets into their chosen business's pasta box at the library.
When all the votes had been cast and counted, Bank Forward earned the prestigious People's Choice first place plaque for their smoked shotgun shells. Lioness took second place for their brisket mac and cheese, and Headlocks Bar was third for their chicken noodle soup-inspired dish. All the winners will also receive digital marketing packages from the Independent.
The festival was hosted by the Foster County Independent and sponsored by 8th Avenue Food & Provisions. Participating businesses each selected a different pasta shape, and the Dakota Growers brand pasta to incorporate in their dishes was provided by 8th Avenue Food & Provisions.
Event organizer Amy Wobbema, publisher of the Independent, got the idea for the festival from the results of a reader survey and focus groups conducted by researcher Teri Finneman of the University of Kansas. In it, Independent readers suggested the idea of a festival to help drive economic growth to promote Main Street businesses, and the pasta theme was one of the more popular suggestions.
Bounce houses from Dakota Inflatable Games of Jamestown were available for kids, and KDAK 1600 AM/100.1 FM/i3G Media conducted a live remote broadcast from the event.
Participants in the first Pasta Fest were CHI St. Alexius Health Carrington Medical Center, Bank Forward, Gettin' Sauced BBQ and Catering, Happy Camper, Bremer Bank, KDAK, Carrington Chamber & Economic Development Corporation (CCEDC), Headlocks Bar, Lioness, The Garden Gate and 8th Avenue Food & Provisions.
During the three hours of the festival, nearly 200 people walked the pasta 'gauntlet' to sample dishes and vote for their favorites.
Net proceeds from the voting will benefit Carrington's Daily Bread, the local food pantry. Based on initial estimates, the donation will total $600. In addition, the Foster County Independent purchased 50 boxes of pasta from Leevers Foods in Carrington to donate to the food pantry. The pasta is displayed in Lioness' store window on Main Street this week (see photo at right).
The Independent, along with 8th Avenue Food & Provisions, hope to see you around this time next year!
A full gallery of photos taken from the event by the Independent's Erik Gjovik can be found at https://transcript.smugmug.com/Foster-County-Independent-photos/8th-Avenue-and-Main-PastaFest-10-17-24
