Cranfest Parades

Each year, Cranfest kicks off its last day (Sunday) with a gigantic parade at noon. This is one of the largest marching band parades in Wisconsin, with numerous marching bands performing from all around Wisconsin and surrounding states.

Beautifully decorated floats from a variety of organizations entertain the crowd each year, along with the many royalty who participate each year. Enjoy some photos from past parades, and make your plans to attend this year's on Sept. 27 at noon!

Craisin Chocolate Chip Bars with Caramel Drizzle

Kick off your weekend with one of our yummiest cranberry recipes, Craisin Chocolate Chip Bars with Caramel Drizzle!

Ingredients:
2/3 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats
1 1/2 cups + tablespoon all-purpose flour, divided
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 6-ounce package Ocean Spray Craisins
2/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Caramel Drizzle
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1/4 cup Ocean Spray Craisins
1/4 cup of sweetened shredded coconut

Makes 21 bars

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease or spray a 9x13x21-inch baking pan. Using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar together in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs, mixing well. Combine oats, flour, baking soda and salt. Incorporate into butter mixture in several additions, mixing well after each. In a small bowl, toss Craisins and chocolate chips with 1 tablespoon of flour. Stir into butter/flour mix. Spread mixture into prepared pan. Bake 18-20 minutes. Cool on wire rack. To prepare drizzle, combine brown sugar, butter and cream in a small saucepan. Stir over low heat until sugar is dissolved. Raise heat and bring to a boil and cook for 2 minutes. Drizzle over cooled bars. Top with Craisins and coconut.

Get Involved!

With over 100,000 visitors each year, it takes a lot of volunteers to make Cranfest a success each year. If you're in the Warrens area and would like to volunteer, we would love to have you! Our volunteers do all sorts of tasks, from stuffing envelopes to setting up booths. Here are just a few things you can help with:

• Cleanup during and after fest
• Secure the grounds
• Mark booth spaces
• Sell souvenir buttons
• Guide bus tours
• Assist special guests
• Help setup and take down before and after fest
• Serve at vendor and information booths
• Work at sales booth
• Sell items at bus tours
• Serve on balloon committee

If this sounds like something that interests you, check out our membership brochure at http://fileresource.sitepro.com/filemanager/21/filecollections/46/D45A7FD5-6A9C-74D5-D09A-21DAB32B8B8D.pdf.

And, you don't have to be a member of Warrens Cranberry Festival to help! We will use any volunteers we can get, and your contribution is very important to us. Contact our volunteer coordinator, Lindsey Coblentz, at 608-378-4200 or office@cranfest.com to volunteer today!

Cranfest Contests

Warrens Cranberry Festival offers a number of contests for all ages. Some contests are already available at our Web site, www.cranfest.com, and more will be added soon. Here is some information on the contests we offer:

Wisconsin Cranberry Recipe. This is our most popular contest. Cooks from all over compete with their best cranberry recipes. There are both fresh cranberry and processed cranberry divisions. 2009 rules are currently available on our Web site.

Photography. Amateur photographers can show off their best work by submitting a 5x7 unframed photo to our photography competition. There are various divisions, including cranberry marsh, wild and plant life and, of course, scenes from Cranfest! See our Web site for 2009 rules.

Pictorial Cancellation. Feeling creative? Design a pictorial cancellation, or a post mark, for Warrens Cranberry Festival. 2009 rules are now online.

Vegetable & Sunflower. Submit your best vegetable and sunflower produce to this contest, which judges based on the best quality. Check out this year's rules online.

Look for these contest rules soon on our Web site:

• Needlework & Quilt
• Flower Show
• Biggest Berry
• Scarecrow Contest

Contests are part of what makes Cranfest fun, so enjoy yourself, and good luck!

Be a Cranfest Vendor

With over three miles of shopping booths, Warrens Cranberry Festival boasts 850 arts & craft booths, 350 flea market & antique booths and 100 farm market booths. Over 100,000 visitors attend the three-day event each year, making Cranfest a lucrative business for our vendors.

Want to become a vendor? Here is some basic information for you:

Arts & Crafts
The deadline was May 1, 2009 for arts & craft and flea market booths, but we are still accepting applications at this time. Arts & craft booths are $300 for each 10x10-foot booth.

Flea Market & Antique
Flea market & antique booths are $7.50 per frontage foot up to 30 feet, and $8.00 per foot over 35 feet. All booths are 18 feet deep. These booths also charge a $25.00 sanitation fee for all vendors and a $10.00 late fee for applications received past the deadline.

Farm Market
Farm market applications were mailed this week, and the application will be available online shortly. All farm market booths are $7.50 per frontage foot and are 18 feet deep.

To apply for any of these booths, visit our site at www.cranfest.com for more information and to download an application.

NOTE: IF YOU ARE A FOOD VENDOR, COMMERCIAL FOODS IS FULL THIS YEAR. If you would like, send an information packet to the Cranfest Office for future consideration. Include the items you sell, a picture of your unit, the size of your unit, whether or not you have a refrigeration unit and your electric and water needs in the packet. We also need to know whether you sell out of the back side of your unit or both sides.

If you have further questions, contact the office at 608-378-4200. We look forward to seeing you at Cranfest!

Where to Stay for Cranfest

With over 100,000 visitors each year, area lodging quickly fills up well in advance. In fact, many hotels in nearby cities like Tomah, Black River Falls and Sparta are already filled to capacity for this year's fest. So what should you do when hotels are full? Here are a few options to consider:

1. Check cities farther away from Cranfest. If your heart is set on the comforts hotels provide, you may need to look farther away in cities such as Onalaska and La Crosse. Your drive to Cranfest may be longer, but sometimes this is the best option.

2. Make Cranfest a camping trip. The festival offers camping on the grounds, eliminating the need to drive to the fest and park every day. Primitive camping is available with no electric or water, and the charge is $50 for the entire stay. Camping space is granted on a first-come, first-serve basis, and the site has never run out of room. Other nearby campsites include Jellystone Camping, which can be reached at 608-378-4977.

3. Spring for a villa. Villas are log homes that feature ample room for families and groups who need more comfort and space. Villas are mainly rented by private owner or through leasing agents, and more information can be found at our Web site, www.cranfest.com under the lodging section.

4. Plan ahead for next year. Maybe you missed out on the accommodations you wanted this year. Plan ahead for next year and book your reservations well in advance. It's never to early to book for Cranfest.

No matter how large your groups are, or what your needs may be, there is room for everyone at Cranfest! Sometimes you just have to look around.

White Chocolate Berry Pie

To kick this blog off with a tasty start, we're giving you one of our tasty cranberry recipes, provided by Louise Watkins, winner of the processed cranberry division in our 2008 recipe contest. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
5 ounces white baking chocolate, divided
2 tablespoons milk
3 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup confectioners' sugar
2 teaspoons grated orange peel
8 ounces whipped topping, thawed
1 9-inch graham cracker crust
1 16-ounce can whole berry cranberry sauce
additional whipped topping for garnish (optional)

Makes 8 servings

In a microwave-safe bowl, melt 4 squares of chocolate with the milk (approximately 3-4 minutes at 50% power). Stir until smooth. Cool to room temperature. Beat cream cheese and confectioners' sugar until smooth. Stir in orange peel and cooled melted chocolate. Fold in whipped topping. Spread into prepared crust. Top with cranberry sauce. Melt remaining square of chocolate (approximately 1-2 minutes at 50% power) and drizzle over top. Garnish with additional whipped topping if desired. Store in refrigerator.

Small town... big festival!

Welcome to the world of Warrens Cranberry Festival, the world's largest cranberry festival! Located in the village of Warrens, Wisconsin, population 360, the fest attracts more than 100,000 visitors annually during the last full weekend in September. So what brings everyone to this tiny town?

For starters, Cranfest boasts some of the best shopping around. The festival hosts 850 arts & craft booths and 350 flea market & antique booths. That's over 3 miles of shopping! Shoppers can fuel up for their festival trek at one of the 100 food vendors serving all the tasty treats imaginable, including cranberry cream puffs, deep fried cranberries, cheesecake on a stick, traditional festival fare and a variety of ethnic foods.

But there's more to Cranberry Festival than just shopping. Visitors compete for prizes in a number of contests, including vegetable & sunflower, pictorial cancellation, scarecrow, photography, needlwork & quilting and the famous cranberry recipe contest.

Cranfest is capped off on its final day by a gigantic parade. This parade is one of the largest marching band parades in Wisconsin and features a number of attractions, including visiting royalty floats, antique cars and much more.

Ready for some fun? Join us for the 37th annual Warrens Cranberry Festival, September 25-27, 2009! To find out more, visit us at www.cranfest.com.