Think soup.
At least that’s what the powers that be with this year’s SouperFest want you to do. And can you blame them? That’s kind of an important piece of the fundraising puzzle and if you’re a soup connoisseur, enthusiast or just kind of like trying new flavors, this is definitely the event for you.
Now in it’s seventh year, SouperFest will be held Saturday at Rundlett Middle School and has turned into a pretty big deal – one that Jim Kinhan, who has be integral in the event since the beginning, could have never imagined. It started out as a small thing that raised a little bit of money for some of the in-house programs at South Church. In the first five years, it was actually just known as SoupFest. There was about 75 people at the first one.
“At the original, in South Church, it was never meant to be a community wide thing,” said Kinhan, who views himself as a fading out consultant at this point. “To see it grow like it has is amazing.”
Then in year four, the soup lovers dream gathering connected with the Concord Coalition to End Homelessness, to generate funds for its cause. Since it had continued to grow since the inaugural year, something had to be done in terms of location. So last year, they connected with the Concord School District and got the okay to use Rundlett.
“It raises awareness of the coalition,” said Ellen Fries, chairwoman of the Concord Coalition to End Homelessness.
And with all that space, why not make this thing an even bigger event? Hence the name – SouperFest. Last year, they added FunFest to the docket, and it’s back once again. There’s going to be entertainment for kids of all ages, and don’t worry parents, you’ll have fun too. FunFest runs from 2 to 5 p.m., overlapping slightly with SoupFest, which runs from 4 to 7 p.m.
There will be bounce houses and other inflatable things to jump on, carnivals games, music and food like hot dogs, popcorn and cotton candy (which are extra).
“The soup gets a lot of publicity, but the fun is really fun,” Fries said.
And as far as the soup side of things, you’re in luck if you like trying small amounts of many different kinds. There are 22 chefs signed up to make soups, including meat and seafood based, vegetable based, family-friendly and gluten free. There will be flavors like kale tortellini, chicken corn chowder, cheeseburger and roasted tomato basil. Concord High culinary student Jack Kretovic is making a white bean and escarole soup with parmesan encrusted croutons. The soups will come in small cups and there will be trays to maximize your soup haul.
“So you can take samples of various soups and take more than one at a time,” Fries said.
Each soup maker is asked to bring at least 13 quarts of their homemade creation, which is about 70 6-ounce portions. So there should be plenty of soup to go around. There will be two stations to help with the flow of soup seekers.
“We learned a lot last year of how to configure the space,” Kinhan said.
And now you might be thinking, soup is great and everything, but what else is there? Well, there are 10 individuals and businesses signed up to bake bread for the event, so you’ll have a nice scrumptious side to go with all those cups of soup. And there’s also four local church groups who will be making desserts.
“You can taste all you want – soup, bread and desserts,” Fries said
Yeah, we know we’re making this a hard thing to pass up. But why would you want to? It will only cost you a $10 suggested donation to get in ($5 for kids under 18) and that includes both FunFest and SoupFest, which combine to make SouperFest (just in case that didn’t make sense).
“You can always make an additional donation,” Fries said. “The price is a suggested donation.”
You get to try all kinds of soup, breads and dessert, and maybe catch up with some old friends – or make new ones.
“You run into people you haven’t seen for a long time because everyone goes to SouperFest,” Fries said.
The sweet sounds of Jazz by Sink and Soha, the combo of Tim Sink and David Soha, will play during the evening. There will also be a special super secret musical surprise at some point during the night. What is it? We know, but we can’t tell you because then it won’t be a secret.
Tickets can be purchased ahead of time at concordhomeless.org or souperfest2016.bpt.me and that means no waiting in any lines, except for soup of course. But you can also get tickets at the door using cash, credit cards, PayPal or pennies if you’d really like to, but we have a feeling the people running the check-in will not be all that impressed.
Last year, more than 600 people attended the two events that make up SouperFest and $34,000 was raised for the coalition through ticket sales, donations and sponsorships.
“The more sponsorships you get, the more other sponsors want to join in,” Fries said.
So let’s see if we can top that in both people and money. Challenge accepted?
