The title of “Best Holiday Fruitcake” in the Pacific Northwest is again up for grabs in the 10th annual Holiday Fruitcake Contest at Port Gamble.
This festive event, which is part of Port Gamble’s Country Christmas Celebration, is the Pacific Northwest’s longest running fruitcake competition.
To celebrate the event’s 10th anniversary, the contest will feature amateur and professional divisions, both competing for the coveted Golden Fruitcake trophy.
The professional division is open to bakeries and restaurants in the Pacific Northwest. Anyone who make a mean fruitcake can participate in the amateur division.
A panel of five local celebrities and fruitcake experts will judge the entries on weight, flavor, texture, aroma, appearance (inside and outside), weight and originality.
The contest rules are simple: All fruitcake entries must be homemade, and anything that appears on or in the fruitcake must be edible. All ingredients must be listed vis-à-vis allergies. Each entry must be submitted on a thick cardboard, plastic, or other sturdy disposable base. There is no standard size or shape for the base; feel free to be creative!
You can submit as many fruitcakes and recipes as you want, but only one prize will be awarded per person.
If you’re willing to share your recipe, please include it with your entry. Recipes and photos of the winning entries will be posted on Port Gamble Facebook and website pages and submitted to local and regional media outlets.
Contest entries should be delivered to the Port Gamble Weddings and Events office Dec. 8, 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Contest judging begins promptly at 1 p.m. and winners will be announced at approximately 3 p.m.
Fruitcake is just part of County Christmas
The annual fruitcake contest is just one of many holiday-related activities that take place during Port Gamble’s Country Christmas Celebration Dec. 8-9 in Port Gamble.
— Children can make holiday crafts and have their pictures taken with Santa at Santa’s Workshop while the holiday-themed stage production at the historic Port Gamble Theater offers entertainment for the entire family.
— Port Gamble merchants will have plenty of gift ideas to help you fill out your holiday shopping list before you settle in to enjoy the annual Port Gamble tree-lighting and fireworks display, which begins at 5:30 p.m.
— Those 21 and older can sip a cup of cheer and snack on holiday nibbles while enjoying the magic of the season at a special VIP event in the Hood Canal Vista Pavilion.
For more information about the Fruitcake Contest, the VIP event or our annual Country Christmas Celebration, please contact the events office at (360) 297-8074 or via email at portgamble@orminc.com.
Port Gamble timber harvest postponed
The scheduled 72-acre timber harvest on the Port Gamble uplands block of the Hood Canal Tree Farm has been postponed.
The harvest, originally announced in February 2012, was scheduled to begin in October. However, Pope Resources decided to delay the harvest after representatives from Forterra told the company that harvest activities could create complexities in the potential for using mitigation money to acquire part of the Port Gamble uplands block.
“Once this became clear to us, we realized that it made no sense to proceed with this harvest if it was going to potentially put in jeopardy the ability to do a larger transaction on this block as part of the Forterra option agreement,” said Dave Nunes, president and CEO of Pope Resources. “So we decided to postpone our harvest plans until after year’s end to allow Forterra more time to further investigate this funding alternative.”
Forterra has an option agreement with Pope Resources to acquire all or part of company-owned lands around the town of Port Gamble in north Kitsap County. The option agreement expires in late March 2013.
— Shana Smith is general manager of Port Gamble. Contact her at ssmith@orminc.com.
