“Spectacular” describes the 5th Annual Historic Meridian Fall Festival held on an absolutely perfect fall day in the Turner family’s back yard. Nearly 100 neighbors attended the September 28 event and more than a dozen neighbors competed in the chili cook-off and cornbread competitions.
At the end of the day, chef extraordinaire Dr. Stephen Towns swept the competition in both events and came home with the golden ladle and cornbread plate for the third time in the last four years. Rounding out the top five (in order of finish) in the chili category included: Marty Dezelan, Mark Herner, Lorraine Vavul and Dick Luchtman. Other participants (in alphabetical order) included: Alfred Abel, Jim Assendelft, Doug Day, Ben and Abby Nicol, Annie Owen, Anna Tyzskiewicz, and Jimmy Webb. In the cornbread competition, Anne-Marie Dezelan’s entry finished runner-up with her stylish entry “Hambalaya Cornbread.”
Above: Historic Meridian Park President Doug Day (right) congratulates the finalist in the chili and cook-off and cornbread competitions: Anne-Marie Dezelan, Mark Herner, Marty Dezelan and Steve Towns. Dr. Towns placed first in both the chili and cornbread contests
“This year marked a number of firsts,” noted Lorraine Phillips Vavul, festival organizer. “It was the first time a vegetarian chili finished in the top three, the first time a youth has entered the chili competition, and we tied the record for the most chili entries at a dozen.” Congratulations to Marty Dezelan for his excellent vegetarian chili and to Jimmy Webb who showed that kids can compete with the seasoned pros.
“This was a great day for HMP. We had perfect weather and a record crowd coming together for fellowship and some friendly competition,” said HMP Neighborhood Association President Doug Day.
The HMPNA board of directors thanks the neighborhood for its tremendous support of this event. In particular, Greg, Gretchen, Graham, and Greyson Turner for hosting; Josh Kupke for coordinating the children’s activities – including the water balloon toss, bean race, and sack races; Abby and Ben Nicol for checking in entrants and assisting with the chili and cornbread judging; Alfred and Colette Abel for coming to the rescue with trash bags and space in their totes; Rick Vavul for serving as our grill master; Krista Edstene for designing a great informational flyer about the festival; the set up and clean-up teams including: Jess LaNore, Jerry Johnson, Bob Bronson, Doug Day, Lorraine Vavul and the entire Turner family.
Above: IMPD’s David Allender, IPS #60’s Melissa Richards, The Children’s Museum’s Anthony Bridgeman, St. Richard’s Patricia Swenson, and Near North Development Corporation’s Michael Osborne.
The neighborhood association extends its sincere appreciation to the celebrity judges for spending the afternoon ensuring a clean and fair competition (though many think that somehow Dr. Towns bought off a few judges despite the blind competition—how can this guy be that good?). Celebrity judges included David Allender – East District Commander of IMPD; Anthony Bridgeman – Director of Community Initiatives at the Children’s Museum; Michael Osborne – President of Near North Development Corporation; Melissa Richards – Principal of IPS 60; and Patricia Swenson – Head of St. Richard’s School.