On Tuesday, July 17, 2012, the Mattapoisett Women’s Club held their annual Taste of the Town fair, featuring over a dozen local eateries offering samples of their signature dishes. The event was held under the big white tent at Shipyard Park and was attended by hundreds of people.
“We’re pretty excited about this event. We had people line up at four o’clock, if you can believe it. This is a spectacular event,” said Eileen Marum, president of the Women’s Club and co-chair of the Taste of the Town.
“It started out as a function to raise money for the library,” said Lois Ennis, Women’s Club member and Marum’s co-chair.
In more recent years, food fair is held to raise money for various scholarships the Women’s Club award to Mattapoisett students, where ever they may attend school, whether it’s Bishop Stang High School in Dartmouth or Old Rochester Regional High School in Mattapoisett.
This year, the Taste of the Town featured 15 local restaurants, serving pizza, salad, ice cream, cookies and tacos, among other things.
“I’m very pleased with our vendors. They’ve been very generous with their time and their products,” Marum said.
Aside from being able to savor a variety of delicious local delicacies, the Taste is also about serving a good cause, which is important to many of the patrons.
“It’s nice to know the money is going to something good,” said Mattapoisett resident Doug Sewell. He’s been to the Taste several times in the past. “It’s great. If you live here, you’ve eaten the food,” he said as he enjoyed some boneless buffalo chicken.
The Taste of the Town is the biggest fundraiser organized by the Women’s Club and all 70 members participate in some way from helping to set up the tables and food stations to passing out beverages and selling tickets.
“I’m glad to have so many members of the Women’s Club helping here. We have a very active membership,” said Marum.
In addition to the cornucopia of culinary treats, the patrons of the Taste of the Town enjoyed musical entertainment provided by the local youth singing group, the Showstoppers. Members of the chorus sang a pops-style program, featuring songs from the 1950s through today.
Marum said their goal was to equal or surpass last year’s total donation of over $4,000.
By Eric Tripoli
