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Poutine Feast may be a keeper

We needed to sell 10,000 poutines to get right of first refusal on Canada Day weekend next year. We did way better than that. We sold 15,000
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The four-day Poutine Feast at Ermatinger-Clergue National Historic Site was considered a resounding success and may well become an annual Canada Day fixture in Sault Ste. Marie.

Josh Ingram, Downtown Association general manager, says organizers of the travelling spud festival promised that if 10,000 poutines sold from June 28 to July 1, the Sault would get right of first refusal on the same dates next year.

In fact, we sold 15,000 servings of the fries-and-gravy-soaked-squeaky-cheese-curd delicacy and everyone involved will decide in late October whether the popular event will return in 2020, Ingram tells SooToday.

"Thank you Sault Ste. Marie. We had a great time and we look forward to seeing you next year!" proclaimed the provincial Poutine Feast Facebook page.

In what could be a harbinger of clogged arteries to come, the name of the "Poutine Feast Sault Ste. Marie - June 28th - July 1st 2019" Facebook page was recently changed to "Poutine Feast Sault Ste. Marie - Summer 2020 - dates to TBD."

This year's event was the Sault's first-ever multi-day poutine event, hosted by Ermatinger-Clergue and the Downtown Association.

Both Ingram and Ermatinger-Clergue curator Kathy Fisher reported hearing visiting poutine vendors say they did better in the Sault than at any other Poutine Feast event across Ontario.

Based on community response, some vendors seriously thought it was the first time the popular Québécois dish had been served to Saultites, they said.


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David Helwig

About the Author: David Helwig

David Helwig's journalism career spans seven decades beginning in the 1960s. His work has been recognized with national and international awards.
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