All of the staple carrot based dishes will be at Agudat Achim’s Carrot Festival this year, but some new treats will be enticing visitors.
Members of the Agudat Achim Congregation, in Niskayuna, are holding the Carrot Festival on Sunday, Sept. 11, with the theme of “Remember – Honor – Celebrate.” The event will have a ceremony at 11:30 a.m. commemorating the events of 9/11 and honoring local first responders. Following the ceremony, the Air National Guard Band of the Northeast, from Boston, Mass., will be performing with its 34-piece concert band and jazz band. Throughout the day there will also be a few other bands performing to get the crowd moving.
“There is something for somebody of every age group,” said Hillary Fink, co-chair of the festival.
The carrots, around 300 pounds, all came from Israel, said Anita Merims, a cake coordinator for the festival. Most of the carrots have been used, but some last minute carrots might be purchased.
“There is a little touch of Israel in everything,” said Merims. “I didn’t realize they grew so many carrots that they could export in that quantity and to Albany of all places.”
The signature dish of the festival is a two layer carrot cake with thick layers of cake sandwiching a rich praline filling and a cream cheese icing tops it off. There are also a variety of other carrot cakes made including iced walnut, apple chunk and banana chocolate chip. Approximately 750 carrot cakes are baked for the festival, said Merims.
Gluten-free baked goods are another new feature of the event, which will include some cookies and cakes. After requests from people attending, the gluten-free options were introduced. Also, it wasn’t hard to find kosher gluten-free ingredients.
“There are a lot of people that who can’t enjoy our regular cakes, so we decided we would do some gluten-free,” said Merims. “We get the requests from people and we just thought we’d give it a shot.”
All the baking for the festival started in mid-July and last for four weeks. Also, the Tzimmes, a carrot pudding, which is a traditional Jewish dish usually served as a sweet side dish, said Merims.
After eating some of the food, or maybe before, people can climb the New York National Guard rock climbing or kids can hop into the bouncy bounce. Other children’s area attractions including Reptile Adventure, Mad Science, Pony Rides and a Petting Zoo with llamas.
There is also a community service tent highlighting local agencies providing services to the town. Ellis Medicine is also hosting a health fair at the event.
A farmers market with locally grown produce will also showcase some ingredients and healthy foods to take home.
The event serves as the main fundraiser for the congregation, which mainly goes towards its educational program, so members are hoping for another large turnout.
“This is the biggest fundraiser we do at the congregation outside of our catering division and it involves the most people. We have well over 100 volunteers on that day,” said Merims.
Niska Day is the big spring event in the community, but Merims said Carrot Festival kicks off the fall season.
“There is nothing as big as the Carrot Festival in the fall in Niskayuna,” said Merims.
The event has only grown over time, said Merims, because she was at the very first one over 30 years ago.
“The first couple were kind of small … it was just hot dogs and hamburgers and we sold carrots,” she said. “It has gotten bigger and bigger every year.”
The event starts at 10 a.m. at Agudat Achim synagogue’s lawn, located on 2117 Union St., and it ends at 4:30 p.m. Rain or shine the festival will run. For information on the event and congregation visit www.agudatachim.org.
