Rain can’t dampen the spirit of Berlin’s Harvest Fest
Iron Rail has won awards at prior Berlin Harvest Fest Rib Cook-offs, but the owners outdid themselves this year, pulling off a rarity in collecting both the People’s Choice Award and the Judges’ Choice Award.
The 2018 Harvest Fest Rib Cook-off faced some stiff competition this year from Mother Nature, but despite the skies opening up and releasing a steady downpour all day Saturday, Sept. 8, the rib cook-off proved it has the staying power it needs to survive. The event went on as scheduled and did so successfully as thousands of people stormed into Berlin to partake in the ribs provided from 14 different vendors.
While the rib cook-off was for the benefit of the public, the nice thing about the rib burn-off raffle, which sold tickets on the square all day, was 100 percent of the proceeds went to a pair of area families who are facing mounting medical needs.
According to Eli Hochstetler, president of the Berlin Main Street Merchants, they believe the raffle raised around $10,000, which will be split evenly between the two families.
One of those is the family of Nathan Hershberger, a 17-year-old who is the son of Joseph and Miriam Hershberger. He is suffering from a brain tumor and walks with a walker and has trouble speaking clearly.
Hershberger has an upcoming surgery to correct a vision problem that has occurred because of the tumor. With a medical bill nearing $1 million, Hochstetler said this will not make a dent, but the hope is it brings awareness to the family’s situation.
The other family is that of Ashadee Miller, the wife of Morgan Miller and a mother of two. She is fighting breast cancer. An active member of her church and the community, she has gone through numerous radiation treatments and is currently trying to raise funds to go to Mexico for a special treatment she believes may help.
“It’s been a struggle for sure,” Hochstetler said of both families. “They are great people going through life’s struggles, and we hope to help any way we can.”
As for the festival itself, it was missing two main components. Because of the downpour, there was no live music, and the grand parade was eventually cancelled, much to the dismay of many.
“That’s called life,” Hochstetler said. “We can’t control the weather, but we still sold a ton of ribs, had a great benefit and had a lot of fun.”
According to Hochstetler, several of the rib joints sold out mid-afternoon, despite adding to their rib total and having 14 contestants in the burn-off.
“I know Iron Rail sold out around 2:30 p.m., and they came with 80 more racks than they made last year, and they still sold out. The rain definitely didn’t keep the people from coming to enjoy the ribs,” Hochstetler said.
Iron Rail dominated the day, winning both the Judges’ Choice Award and the People’s Choice Award, somewhat of a rarity over the years because most years those two awards go to different businesses.
An old favorite, Bogey’s, which has been at the festival for years and won numerous times, took second place in the Judges’ Choice while the Department of Barbecue took third.
Five local judges from different walks of life served as the judges for the event, and it was a difficult task to pick a winner from the many great entries.
The judges ranked the ribs and tallied points in a series of different categories like tenderness, meat flavor and sauce and eventually determined a winner in Iron Rail.
“We feel good about it because the people obviously agreed with us, and I guess we got it right,” said Rachel Kandel, manager of strategy and business development at Pomerene Hospital, which served as the T-shirt sponsor for this year’s festival. “It was really fun to be a part of it. Attendance was extremely good, and people seemed to still have a great time despite the weather.”
The judges were blindfolded while each set of ribs was placed in front of them for tasting. With 14 entries it took some time, and they were more than full after the contest was over.
“Most of the ribs are excellent, and the judges had a tough time choosing the winner,” Kandel said. “We all had a blast, and it was a lot of fun to be a part of the festival this year, even though it rained all day.”