What is a spiedie? It is a regional specialty food of the Binghamton area - although I understand there are certain parts of North Carolina where you can find them also. This link gives a very nice recipe-try it for your next BBQ!
Our local Spiedie Fest festival (that has grown so much, the spiedies are practically an afterthought) attracted record crowds Saturday to Otsiningo Park to see the balloons, the crafts, the musical entertainment....and to help celebrate its 25th anniversary. An added plus is the family friendly alcohol free atmosphere and the knowledge that the festival raises funds for a local charity.
Alas- the aftermath of the festival brings back....certain memories. Stinky memories. Literally.
Spouse visited our community garden today (the park had been mostly closed except for the festival since Thursday afternoon) and was greeted by a memory of our Flood of 2006. The park, which is operated by Broome County, was a morass of mud, tire tracks...and stench. If any of my readers has been through a flood, they are unlucky enough to know what a flood smells like. And we know from experience that the smell is not going to go away any time soon.
This will be a big loss to our area if people can't use the park. And an expense our area can ill afford. This park is a favorite for joggers, walkers, dog walkers, cyclists, and children. On weekends there are soccer and sometimes rugby games. There is a beach volleyball pit. On Saturdays during the summer there is a farmers market. And, of course, our community garden is there.
What a shame. I am fearful that the cleanup costs and work will convince Broome County not to allow the festival at Otsiningo Park. This happened one time before (for a different reason) and for several years the festival had to relocate to the Endicott airport. It was never the same on the hot concrete.
I haven't seemed to see much in the local media on this. I'll be curious to see if there is any news coverage of this situation. What a shame for our showcase park and our showcase festival.
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