Shawano Leader article
| JA event a palatable experience Taste of Shawano goes off without a hitch | ||||||||||
lpulaski@shawanoleader.com Tasteful displays, tasteful performances and tasteful dishes gave hundreds of guests a glimpse of Shawano County this week. Junior Achievement (JA) of the Wolf River Region held the seventh annual Taste of Shawano on Monday in the commons area at Shawano Community High School, featuring more than three dozen restaurants, organizations and performance groups from the area. Proceeds from the event will be used to support JA programs in schools in Shawano and Menominee counties. Diane Heikes, local JA director, did not have a final count on attendance, but she noted the crowd appeared to be larger than at last year's event, which attracted more than 500 people. "I'm not good at judging crowd sizes, but I think this is the most we've ever had," Heikes said. "I'm tickled pink." Among the crowd was first-time attendee Murylene Clements, who came from Suring with a friend to sample what Shawano had to offer. She said she didn't expect the event to be as big as it was. "Everything was good from the Domino's Pizza to that other pizza place (Amico's), and the pork was real good," Clements said. "I'm stuffed." Also at the event for the first time, as a vendor, was the Red Rooster Cafe from Bonduel. Toni Eisner and her crew prepared a variety of dishes from the menu, including homemade carrot cake, pork chop suey and creamy potato bacon soup. "I think a people don't have a lot of time at home to do the things they want to in a meal," Eisner said. "I think what we try to pride ourselves on is home cooking, something you might not have time to do but really enjoy and want. The carrot cake is something my grandma used to make." Taste of Shawano also included displays from Shawano Pathways, ThedaCare and others promoting healthier lifestyles. Matty Mathison of Shawano Pathways found the event ideal for getting the word out about the group's programs, including a push for more bicycle routes in the county. "It's just encouraging people to be healthy -- to walk, to bike, to get up and move," Mathison said. Heikes noted that JA, for the first time, offered a free raffle ticket for visitors who purchased their admission tickets in advance, which helped to boost early sales. One noticeable addition that was not planned by the JA event committee was the use of muffin tins to collect the various samples at each station instead of juggling multiple plates. According to Heikes, the idea came from a family who brought muffin tins to the 2012 Taste of Shawano and then recommended it through the event's Facebook page. "People figured that out on their own," Heikes said. "I've seen a lot of them (this year)." |
