Hometown Spirit In Full Swing As Volunteers Prepare For New Suffolk Waterfront's Chowderfest

NEW SUFFOLK, NY — Never was the expression, "Many hands make light work" more true than Wednesday afternoon, when a group of volunteers rolled up their sleeves and began chopping — lots and lots of chopping — as they set out to make what will be 40 gallons of chowder for the New Suffolk Waterfront Fund's 9th Annual Chowderfest.

The well-loved annual event will take place Saturday from noon to 3 p.m. at the New Suffolk waterfront and feature locally prepared chowders, a classic BBQ lunch, activities and face painting for the kids, live music, a Chinese auction, and 50 varieties of perennials for sale.

Tickets cost $25 and are available online by clicking here. Kids under 12 eat free. The event has a rain date of Monday.

The chowder making went back to its roots this year, with volunteers offering their time and talents to whip up batches of chowder. For a number of years, all chowders were donated from local eateries.

This year, four types of chowders will be available, including New England, Manhattan, corn, and a sustainable fish chowder.

The Manhattan clam chowders will be prepared and donated by Braun Seafood and Case's Place, with the clams donated by Braun Seafood.

Onhand Wednesday afternoon in the A Taste of the North Fork kitchen on Cox Lane in Cutchogue were volunteers Margaret Brown, Cali Schultheis, Muffie Baker, Joanne Yacko and Barbara Butterworth, who coordinated the schedule.

The event takes weeks of preparation and planning: The fish and corn chowder stocks were made a week ago, vegetables were being chopped Wednesday and Thursday; the group was prepared to make the New England clam chowder from scratch on Wednesday.

Jeri Woodhouse, owner and founder of A Taste of the North Fork, was happy to donate the kitchen space. "There's nothing like chopping together and cooking together," she said. "And especially for this event. It's fun for everyone. It's great day at the waterfront."