Memories of Chowderfests Past
In light of everyone's favorite Saratoga holiday being postponed, SLAH looks back at Chowderfests of simpler times.
In the oeuvre of Saratoga drinking holidays—Thanksgiving Eve, SantaCON, Travers Day, etc.—one day stands (albeit tipsily) above the rest. That occasion is Chowderfest, when thousands of party people from near and far make the pilgrimage to Saratoga County either for creamy soup samples or to use the presence of creamy soup samples as an excuse to day-drink heavily. “It’s always crazy all day,” says Bailey’s co-owner Matt Beecher. “It’s honestly more of a beer fest where people happen to make chowder.” But whether you go to Dango’s on the first Saturday of February for a few sips of their tried-and-true chicken wing chowder or for a series of sure-to-be unfortunate Irish car bombs, chances are you’re going to have a good time.
As I write this, Saratoga has just been dealt the news that Chowderfest—which last year was transformed into a week-long Chowder Tour—has been postponed from early February to late March due to an increase in COVID cases. The good (to some) news is that while the 2022 event will have the format of last year’s Chowder Tour and take place March 19-26, as of early January, the plan is to bring back the single-day fest on Saturday the 26th. (Hence why Discover Saratoga is calling this year’s event the “Saratoga Chowder Fest ’N Tour.”)
Of course, we’ll have to wait and see what the state of the pandemic is come March. One perk of the postponement (other than the slightly warmer March temps), one Saratoga Facebook user commented, is that it will give people more time to save their money, as the PPCS (price per chowder sample) will be upped this year from $1 to $2. But given the sky-high cost of food these days, even that 100 percent price increase may not be enough to entice restaurants to participate. “We might not do it this year…and we were one of the WINNERS last year,” Taverna Novo owner Patty Novo wrote on Facebook. “$2 per sample doesn't even cover costs unless you serve cheap crap (which we would not, could not and will not do).”
We could go on about what will come of 2022 Chowderfest ‘til the last stumbling 21-year-old on Caroline Street comes home. But we think it’d be more fun to look back on Saratogians’ memories of Chowderfests past, when the biggest concern was how to get from Thirsty Owl to Cantina without freezing your fingers off. Enjoy.
—Natalie
“One year I showed up too late to get chowder and then lost my wallet and snuck back into the Tavern to find it, but they had closed the fourth floor where I lost it so I cried the entire way home and my boyfriend found me passed out playing Mario Bros.” —The Hot Mess
“In 2013 I think they had over 25k people. It was freezing all day and then it snowed and it was so pretty. I don’t have any good stories…just memories of chowder and drinking!” —The Cold-weather Warrior
“The first year I moved to Saratoga, I scheduled an engagement photo session for the day after Chowderfest. Big mistake. Huge. Chowder EVERYWHERE. All over the ground, bushes, snow, etc. Had to do a LOT of Photoshopping. My clients were cool about it, but we were all like, ‘We effed up.’” —The Regretful Photographer
“One year my two friends and I made shirts that said ‘The Chowderpuff Girls.’ No one really appreciated them except us.” —Blossom
“I was on dating apps at the time and told all the men I was talking to (like, a lot of them) to meet me at Chowderfest, thinking a few would show. I ended up accidentally getting drunk and meeting up with my current boyfriend. I saw him at the bar and realized he was too hot for me (lol) so I tried to get a cab home but I couldn’t get one so I went back inside. I went home with him because he said he had pizza at his apartment. #romance.” —The Pizzaholic
“I come downtown every year for Chowderfest and find myself sitting in a restaurant, drinking coffee, watching the crowds. It’s amazing that so many people come out in the middle of winter. Cold or snowy—the weather really doesn’t matter. Downtown is busy, businesses do very well, and everyone seems happy.” —The Logo Master
“My first Chowderfest was in 2010—I only found out about it because I had left my credit card at Gaffney’s the night before. When I went to get it in the morning, it didn’t take hungover me long to realize something cool was about to start. People were lining up outside Gaffney’s and it was only 10am. I asked why and the bartender told me that it was Chowderfest. I ended up staying all day.” —The New Kid
“I woke up the next morning with three receipts from Price Chopper at three different times, all for lettuce and Cheez-Its.” —The Girl With the Balanced Diet
Have a Chowderfest memory you’d like to share? Drop it in the comments!