Kennewick chows down on tamales
Earlier this month, Kennewick residents went to the Benton County Fairground in droves, with one thing on their minds: tamales.
During the fourth annual Tamale Festival, more than 5,500 area residents ate more than 65,000 of the Mesoamerican delicacies. Tamales, for the unfamiliar, feature bean, vegetable or meat fillings, encased in dough, then wrapped in a dried corn husk.
One vendor, Sonia Alamilla, prepared nearly 3,000 tamales for the event. She brought seven members of her family, plus two grills and three pots to the fairgrounds to prepare and serve her food. She started prepping for the event a week in advance. David Cortinas, the event's organizer and a friend of Alamilla, told her she might not have made enough, but she said she had done all she could manage.
Organizers of food events often use poster printing to spread the word and to get more vendors to sign on. Along with the individuals preparing and selling tamales at the festival, there were also crafters, makeup sellers, and clothing vendors out in force.
In all, 15 vendors ended up selling thousands of tamales to hungry attendees. People began lining up for the festival early, and the lines extended out of the door by 11:00 am. Cortinas, the organizer, estimated that a few hundred people arrived at the event every hour.
During the fourth annual Tamale Festival, more than 5,500 area residents ate more than 65,000 of the Mesoamerican delicacies. Tamales, for the unfamiliar, feature bean, vegetable or meat fillings, encased in dough, then wrapped in a dried corn husk.
One vendor, Sonia Alamilla, prepared nearly 3,000 tamales for the event. She brought seven members of her family, plus two grills and three pots to the fairgrounds to prepare and serve her food. She started prepping for the event a week in advance. David Cortinas, the event's organizer and a friend of Alamilla, told her she might not have made enough, but she said she had done all she could manage.
Organizers of food events often use poster printing to spread the word and to get more vendors to sign on. Along with the individuals preparing and selling tamales at the festival, there were also crafters, makeup sellers, and clothing vendors out in force.
In all, 15 vendors ended up selling thousands of tamales to hungry attendees. People began lining up for the festival early, and the lines extended out of the door by 11:00 am. Cortinas, the organizer, estimated that a few hundred people arrived at the event every hour.