{"id":39463,"date":"2024-02-20T09:10:03","date_gmt":"2024-02-20T14:10:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/?p=39463"},"modified":"2024-02-20T09:10:03","modified_gmt":"2024-02-20T14:10:03","slug":"this-years-chowderfest-event-marked-the-end-of-the-long-time-organizers-tenure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2024\/02\/this-years-chowderfest-event-marked-the-end-of-the-long-time-organizers-tenure\/","title":{"rendered":"This Year\u2019s Chowderfest Event Marked The End Of The Long-Time Organizer\u2019s Tenure"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Chowderfests for the last 16 years have been spearheaded by Connie Crudo.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When Clifton Park resident Connie Crudo was hired by Discover Saratoga ahead of the 2008 Chowderfest, she didn\u2019t even know what Chowderfest was. At the time, that wasn\u2019t even that unusual\u2014the now-famous chowder cook-off that pits local restaurants against one another had never drawn more than 8,000 attendees<\/p>\n

But Crudo was about to change that<\/p>\n

Sixteen years later, everyone in the Capital Region knows Chowderfest, which these days brings in some 40,000 attendees\u2014all thanks to Crudo and her team<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew just from walking around that first year that this thing had legs\u2014that there was definitely an opportunity to grow it, involve more businesses, and bring more financial contribution to the downtown area,\u201d she says. \u201cI started working on that, and each year we would add something to it. And now it\u2019s grown into the monster that it is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Such additions include the shuttle service that now runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. between Saratoga Casino Hotel and downtown, and the now-defunct Doggie Chow Down, which was inspired by Impressions owner Mare Barker\u2019s desire to make chowder for the many dogs that used to accompany their owners to Chowderfest. Other local businesses hopped on board, and at the first-ever Doggie Chow Down in 2008, then-Mayor Scott Johnson\u2019s Mastiff, Dr. Watson, served as the judge.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/b><\/span><\/span>\u201cThe mayor would walk the dog down a red carpet and let him sniff each of the bowls of chowder,\u201d Crudo says. \u201cAnd then he would loosen the leash and whatever bowl the dog went for was the winner.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Eventually, Chowderfest grew too large for the event, which was discontinued in 2017 when Discover Saratoga began discouraging people from bringing their dogs at all because of the crowds.<\/p>\n

Over the years, the sidewalks became so packed that Crudo began working with the City to shut down streets that saw some of the most foot traffic. The closure came in especially handy in 2013, when Crudo helped organize a flash mob that took to Caroline Street at 11 a.m..\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe were working with a videographer that was going to create a video for us, and I had a dream that you could see red hats bopping up and down,\u201d Crudo says. \u201cSo we started selling beanies, and people went wild. They were like, \u2018I\u2019ll give you $50 right now for that hat.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Every year since then, Discover Saratoga has sold beanies along with the signature Chowderfest T-shirts that, until 2022, featured artwork by artist Hud Armstrong. When the local legend passed away later that year, Mark Jewell of Squid Designs stepped up to design a 2023 Chowderfest logo in Armstrong\u2019s signature style of the now-iconic boy, girl, duck and squirrel in front of 9 Maple, where he bartended for years. This year\u2019s logo features the fab foursome in the Saratoga Spa State Park in honor of the New York Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation\u2019s centennial.<\/p>\n

But that\u2019s not the only milestone anniversary that was celebrated at this year\u2019s Chowderfest: This year marked the annual event\u2019s 25th anniversary. In honor of the occasion, Discover Saratoga had all sorts of special events planned, from kids activities and photo ops to pop-up dance performances by Dance Fire Studio and a scavenger hunt for 100 hidden horseshoes. At last count, 86 restaurants were set to serve chowder.<\/p>\n

Chowderfest has become such a to-do, that Crudo says she regularly gets calls from out-of-towners who are coming to Saratoga just for the event.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI literally get phone calls from Canada,\u201d she says. \u201c\u2019We\u2019re coming for Chowderfest, where can I book a room?\u2019 Or, \u2018Where does it take place? I live in California and I\u2019ve never been.\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

One year, she even advised a group of aviators from a Long Island-based Piper plane club on how to get from the Saratoga County Airport to Chowderfest, since about eight of them were flying up for the day.<\/p>\n

\u201cCovid kind of shut us down,\u201d says Crudo, who remembers her legs being red for days following the frigid Chowderfest of 2015, of the pandemic-caused lull in numbers. \u201cBut we\u2019ve gone up every year since.\u201d<\/p>\n

Crudo even gets calls from out-of-town restaurant owners who want to compete. \u201cI have people from New Jersey call and say, \u2018Well, I won the chowder fest in New Jersey, and I bet I could win in Saratoga too\u2014I want to be entered,\u2019\u201d she says. \u201cI\u2019m like, \u2018No, you can\u2019t.\u2019 The whole reason this was started was to bring business to our downtown establishments during a slow time. I don\u2019t want somebody from New Jersey coming and making $10,000 at our event when that money could have been divided between the downtown businesses.\u201d<\/p>\n

If bringing business to downtown bars and restaurants was the whole point of Chowderfest, it\u2019s working.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAsk any restaurant,\u201d Crudo says. \u201cIt\u2019s the busiest day of the year\u2014busier than Travers. Years ago, Will from Esperanto told me that Chowderfest literally keeps his people employed and his lights on for the entire month.\u201d<\/p>\n

Speaking of employment, this year\u2019s event marked the last Chowderfest that was organized by Crudo\u2014she\u2019s retiring later this year.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI can go on all day about Chowderfest,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s a passion, and it\u2019s been exciting to watch it grow. We\u2019ve worked with so many different people through the years. I love it. But it\u2019s too much. It\u2019s a young person\u2019s job. I\u2019m not there anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of course, retirement doesn\u2019t mean the end of Crudo\u2019s Chowderfest escapades. Next year, instead of organizing sponsor booths and checking in on the 80-plus participating restaurants, you\u2019ll find her bellied up to the bar, belly full of chowder.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When Clifton Park resident Connie Crudo was hired by Discover Saratoga ahead of the 2008 Chowderfest, she didn\u2019t even know what Chowderfest was. At the time, that wasn\u2019t even that unusual\u2014the now-famous chowder cook-off that pits local restaurants against one another had never drawn more than 8,000 attendees But Crudo was about to change that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":89,"featured_media":39464,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39463","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-news"],"yoast_head":"\r\nThis Year\u2019s Chowderfest Event Marked The End Of The Long-Time Organizer\u2019s Tenure - Saratoga Business Journal<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2024\/02\/this-years-chowderfest-event-marked-the-end-of-the-long-time-organizers-tenure\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"This Year\u2019s Chowderfest Event Marked The End Of The Long-Time Organizer\u2019s Tenure - Saratoga Business Journal\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When Clifton Park resident Connie Crudo was hired by Discover Saratoga ahead of the 2008 Chowderfest, she didn\u2019t even know what Chowderfest was. 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