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PNW Eggfest - Record Attendance

Dimple's Mom
Dimple's Mom Posts: 1,740
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
Don't know where to begin. It was an amazing day. We started the day off with about 350 in registrations. Don't know what happened but we had a ton of walk-ins. One of the women manning the registration table stopped counting after the total count topped 600! Quite the increase so I don't know what we'll do next year, since having almost half your attendance be walk-ins is not always a great thing. My suggestion will be to take registrations to a certain number and then post "sold out" on the website and at the front gate!

Amazing food came off the grills with some really nice presentations too. One of my favorites was the baron of beef made into french dip with au jus, accompanied by grilled asparagus and watermelon. The watermelon really hit the spot - it was a hot day - and the whole presentation was just really nice. The guy who turned 40# of beef into nonstop sliders had a continual line that lasted until we shut him down. This probably had something to do with the fact that the slider were delicious. Hopefully someone took a photo of that paella dish because it was truly a thing of beauty. Craig from AES and John Creel from BGE in Atlanta did some pretty tasty french fries which just goes to show you that you can deep fry on the egg. (I would still be pretty darn careful.)

It was great fun seeing people returning from last year and also meeting and getting to know new people this year. We had a lot of people new to egging. I encouraged everyone I talked to to visit this forum and get involved, so I'm hoping some of them will take that advice.

Last but not least, I am thinking of making an executive decision to ban all folks from Florida from future PNW Eggfests. For the second year in a row, a couple from Florida won one of our "big" raffle prizes. I guess it's not enough that you get to live in perpetual sunshine 24/7 while we live our lives in a grey fog, now you have to come here to win our prizes! :P

Thanks to everyone who came and participated by either cooking, eating, or both and helped to make the 2nd annual PWN Eggfest so successful.

If you would be interested in coming out to the island for an informal day of bbq'ing either later this fall or next spring, shoot me an email. 12 months is too long to wait and it would be fun to get to know people in a more intimate setting.
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Comments

  • SMITTYtheSMOKER
    SMITTYtheSMOKER Posts: 2,668
    Nice work Gwen.

     

    -SMITTY     

    from SANTA CLARA, CA

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  • AZRP
    AZRP Posts: 10,116
    Dang gal, you had almost half the number that go to Atlanta! Hope you had enough cooks and food, see ya in Atlanta. -RP
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  • Dimple's Mom
    Dimple's Mom Posts: 1,740
    It didn't seem like anywhere near the number that were in Atlanta. I'll have to count it myself! Our park is big, though, bigger than the area in Atlanta and our bbq area is more spread out.

    I won't be in Atlanta this year. I was going to come and just recently made the decision not to. I had an unexpected trip down to Calif for my uncle's memorial service this month and I have had an 11-day trip to Caif planned for almost a year, and I have just had a really busy summer. So I am going to take some time off and stay home. I am cutting back on my volunteer committments (I have volunteered at least 40 hours a week this past year and it has finally caught up with me) and am going to be spending time at home with my youngest son who is a junior in high school. Plus cutting back on expenses since we now have 2 in college.

    I do have a free ticket someplace so I will likely use it to go to an eggfest somewhere in 2009 since they are so much fun.

    I'm sad not to be coming because it is so much fun but the thought of another trip was stressing me out and I have felt better since making the decision to pass on Atlanta this year. I know it will be a great time for all
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  • SSN686
    SSN686 Posts: 3,504
    Morning Gwen:

    Sounds like you need to come to Florida in March next year, if for no other reason than to win the prize here to take back to the PNW! :laugh: :laugh:

    Have a GREAT day!

       Jay

    Brandon, FL


     

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  • AZRP
    AZRP Posts: 10,116
    Sorry to hear you won't be there, we will miss you. I hear ya about the college expenses, we're almost done. -RP
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  • Mariner Mike
    Mariner Mike Posts: 23
    Great job Gwen. I really enjoyed my first Eggfest. I think I'm going to cook next year.

    The one thing that was a little frustrating was the door prizes. I was there from 10 am until the end and I only heard 3 or 4 numbers called. Maybe next year there could be a PA system or something. A fellow egger we were talking to said he could have brought one.

    I also thought it might be nice to have a seperate people's choice prize for the competition teams to open it up more for us common eggers. Just a thought.

    Thanks for everything and I can't wait until next year.
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  • WADoug
    WADoug Posts: 191
    Gwen, thanks to you and all those that made the PNW Eggfest so good. I was the first thing like that I've attended. It was wonderful. Lots of interesting people, lots and lots of great food at a beautiful site. My wife I will definitely be at the next.
    Doug
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  • AzScott
    AzScott Posts: 309
    600+! That's awesome and it sounds like a great time. I hope pictures will be coming soon.
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  • Camano
    Camano Posts: 134
    What can we say. It was a total blast. Thanks so much to Gwen for the hours of work to make it a great event. Craig from AES and John from BGE and the other sponsors many thanks. To the cooks that answered the same questions from different people all day and made it sound like it was the first time anyone asked that question. The food, OMG it was fantastic! I learned so much. There are numerous ways to do almost everything, from lighting the Egg to cooking the food. Pick one that suits you best and improve on it. Can’t wait for next year.

    Jeff
    Camano Island, WA
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  • Konrad "Teddy Bear"
    Konrad "Teddy Bear" Posts: 27
    Gwen,

    Awesome job, Thank You!

    It was my first eggfest and my first peoples choice. Loved it and can't wait to do it next year.

    I should have taken more pictures. My Bad :(

    Art_Butt_Bucket.jpg
    Art with a Butt Bucket

    JD.jpg
    John (he'll be cooking with my medium at Alki next weekend)

    Monroe_BBQ.jpg
    The other great pitmaster from Monroe

    Shrimp_Pig_Candy.jpg
    Margarita marinated shrimp on the Barbie

    Stuffed-Pork-Loin.jpg
    Caramelized onion and roast garlic stuffed pork loin with a chipotle rub

    Crab_Stuffed_Peppers.jpg
    Dungeness crab stuffed sweet peppers wrapped in bacon and smoked with cherry wood
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  • JD McGee
    JD McGee Posts: 250
    Great job (as usual) Gwen! :) See you next year! ;)
    Wine Country "Q" Competition BBQ Team Pacific Northwest BBQ Association's 2011 "Team Of The Year" www.winecountryq.com
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  • Dimple's Mom
    Dimple's Mom Posts: 1,740
    Mike, We aren't allowed to use PA systems at that park and microphones fall under that category. We tried really hard to find a megaphone but could not. We couldn't even find one to rent.

    If we can't find a megaphone between now and next year, my suggestion is going to be to do them at timed intervals, like on the hour, so that people know to go over and listen. But the cooks wouldn't be able to all do that, so that's not a 100% solution.

    I don't believe they ever had to call more than one number, tho. They always had a winner who heard. So that was good, altho it would have been fun for everyone to be able to watch that wanted to.

    If you know anyone with a megaphone, let us know!
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  • Dimple's Mom
    Dimple's Mom Posts: 1,740
    Great photos! I didn't get to taste all your stuff - I wish I had! I'm a big fan of carmelized onions!

    Can you do me a favor and email me directly those photos? I don't know how to get them from here to our website, but if I have them as jpeg attachments, I can deal with them.

    Thanks!
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  • Mariner Mike
    Mariner Mike Posts: 23
    Time intervals would be better. Maybe ring a dinner bell or something. ;)

    Thanks again for everything. It was a great time.
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  • Dimple's Mom
    Dimple's Mom Posts: 1,740
    Ringing a bell is a great idea. It occurred to me to look online for a megaphone. Ebay has them as well as other places. So I think we can get one for next year and we will probably still do them at timed intervals.
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  • Smokin' in PNW
    Smokin' in PNW Posts: 8
    Thanks again for coordinating - it was much busier than last year.
    I don't feel so bad taking 2nd place to an actual BBQ "team". :)
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  • Dimple's Mom
    Dimple's Mom Posts: 1,740
    Mark, is that you? I didn't get to taste your ribs. :( You didn't bring me one. Bad boy. :P
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  • Smokin' in PNW
    Smokin' in PNW Posts: 8
    I didn't do ribs this year - after last year I wanted to keep it simple so that we might be able to get out and enjoy more of the 'fest, but to no avail. I need to get organized and come up with a team approach. :) This "one man......one egg" strategy is wearing me out. :silly:
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  • Unknown
    Unknown
    So what did you cook then? Apparently it tasted pretty good since you came in 2nd!

    I brought my hubby along this year and that helped a lot. Next year I'm not going to cook so much. This year I did all quick and easy things to show people how much you could use the Egg for but it definitely meant I was slaving over the Egg all day. I am already thinking of ideas for next year!

    I know one thing for sure - I'm getting a table and those legs that bring the table up to proper working height. My back was KILLING me by the end of the day with all that awkward bending over the picnic tables.

    Gwen
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