Staff report
Rutland has set a new state record and it’s a sweet one!
At the first annual Whoopie Pie Festival was held Saturday, Aug. 27 on Center Street downtown, Dream Maker Bakers of Killington set the Vermont state record by baking and putting together (in front of a crowd) a 554 pound whoopie pie!
The feat took a lot of collaboration, Megan Wagner explained on a Facebook post right before the event. Ralph Syl shared his mother’s classic whoopie pie recipe with her “just before this whole idea came about,” she wrote.
Wagner also thanked Dominic’s Pizza “for opening their kitchen to us and letting us do unique things to their oven as we baked a whoopie pie in a pan bigger than their oven,” Wayne Jones of Jones Metal “for building us a 4.5’ diameter circle pan with a 4-inch side in less than 36 hours!” Killington Resort “for the use of their scale and rigging straps for the weighing needs,” Foley “for the transport of the whoopie layers,” and Casella “for providing the heavy equipment required for the final weigh in.”
In addition to the Dream Maker Bakers record breaking pie, there were nine vendor booths from Vermont, New York, and Maine handing out samples to hungry festival-goers. Holly Bromley, owner of The Gettin’ Place in Whitehall, New York won People’s Choice Award and Overall Best, which was voted on by a panel of five judges. Fiona Graves, owner of Fiona’s Sweets & Tweets, a food truck based in Pittsford, won Most Creative, also voted on by judges.
Additionally, the event featured a Parade of Heroes, honoring community members who played a major role in keeping our community safe throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. Over 250 people participated marching through downtown Saturday afternoon.