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Open Season Clam Chowder Takes First Place at Great Chowder Cook Off

[CREDIT: Mary Carlos] The Open Season Team, 'Clamoflage' makes a triumphant march to the stage to accept first place for their Clam chowder in the Great Chowder Cook-Off at Fort Adams, Newport.
[CREDIT: Mary Carlos] The Open Season Team, ‘Clamoflage’ makes a triumphant march to the stage to accept first place for their Clam chowder in the Great Chowder Cook-Off at Fort Adams, Newport.
[CREDIT: Mary Carlos] The Open Season Team, 'Clamoflage' on stage accepting first place for their Clam chowder in the Great Chowder Cook-Off at Fort Adams, Newport.
[CREDIT: Mary Carlos] The Open Season Team, ‘Clamoflage’ on stage accepting first place for their Clam chowder in the Great Chowder Cook-Off at Fort Adams, Newport.
WARWICK, R.I. — Open Season took second place at the Great Chowder Cook-Off at Fort Adams Park in Newport in 2016, to the visible delight of the fledgling camo-themed caterers, so their reaction to this year’s first place win was cranked up accordingly.

About 20 members of the Open Season team at the the Cook-Off, lingering with the other contestants after the beer tent, food trucks, vendor camps and all but a handful of attendees had left or started packing to do so, stood and cheered their triumph as they marched to the stage to accept their prize.

Michele Maker Palmieri, founder, president & CEO of Waterfront Productions LLC, which produces the Annual Great Chowder Cook-Off, said she was pleased with the turnout for this year’s cook-off, given the 90-degree weather and a car crash on the Newport Bridge, already suffering traffic delays due to construction this summer.

The event is in its third year at Fort Adams. In September 2014 Newport Harbor Corporation sold the Newport Yachting Center
Property to a development company, Peregrine Group, and announced that the eventwould no longer be hosted at the Newport Yachting Center. Also dislodged from their annual venue were the Waterfront Reggae Festival and Oktoberfest, according to the Newport Waterfront Events page.

The Newport Waterfront Events Management Team, including Maker Palmieri, acquired the intellectual property and assets for the events, founded Waterfront Productions, LLC, then located new waterfront venues in Newport and Providence, bringing all the events back for 2015, with the Chowder Cook-Off moving to Fort Adams. The team also launched a new Latino Music Festival.

Maker Palmieri said the events had grown to attract about 7,000 – 10,000 people each year, but the move took some of that growth at first.

“It took us a little while to get back to that,” Maker Palmieri said. But this year, “We’re over 7,000,” she said.

[CREDIT: Mary Carlos] Greenwich Bay's team members Terri Aquiar and Nathan Bard serve chowder during the Great Chowder Cook-Off at Fort Adams, Newport.
[CREDIT: Mary Carlos] Greenwich Bay’s team members Terri Aquiar and Nathan Bard serve chowder during the Great Chowder Cook-Off at Fort Adams, Newport.
[CREDIT: Mary Carlos] Chapel Grille's team at the Great Chowder Cook-Off at Fort Adams, Newport. Smiling for the camera are: Erin Pimental, Darien Jewell, Tim Kelley, Vittoria Devin, Tori Picchione, Kusta Fillipou, and James Dunbar.
[CREDIT: Mary Carlos] Chapel Grille’s team at
the Great Chowder Cook-Off at Fort Adams, Newport. Smiling for the camera are: Erin Pimental, Darien Jewell, Tim Kelley, Vittoria Devin, Tori Picchione, Kusta Fillipou, and James Dunbar.
[CREDIT: Mary Carlos] Nancy’s Barn, hailing from Ballyliffin Ireland, serves up their chowder at the Great Chowder Cook-Off at Fort Adams, Newport. At far right, in straw hat, Gavin McNaulty, owner, charms the crowd. With him are Ronan Gildea, Bernard Harkin and Kieran Duey.
[CREDIT: Mary Carlos]
Nancy’s Barn, hailing from Ballyliffin Ireland, serves up their chowder at the Great Chowder Cook-Off at Fort Adams, Newport. At far right, in straw hat, Gavin McNaulty, owner, charms the crowd. With him, in white, are Ronan Gildea, Bernard Harkin and Kieran Duey.
[CREDIT: Mary Carlos] From left, Bill Issler of Cranston and Eric Hudson of Providence pose with the Chowder Cook-Off Clam during the Great Chowder Cook-Off at Fort Adams, Newport.
[CREDIT: Mary Carlos] From left, Bill Issler of Cranston and Eric Hudson of Providence pose with the Chowder Cook-Off Clam during the Great Chowder Cook-Off at Fort Adams, Newport.
[CREDIT: Mary Carlos] The scenery and view of the bay was one of many delights during the Great Chowder Cook-Off at Fort Adams, Newport.
[CREDIT: Mary Carlos] The scenery and view of the bay was one of many delights during the Great Chowder Cook-Off at Fort Adams, Newport.
[CREDIT: Mary Carlos] A view of the Great Chowder Cook-Off at Fort Adams, Newport, from the walls of Fort Adams.
[CREDIT: Mary Carlos] A view of the Great Chowder Cook-Off at Fort Adams, Newport, from the walls of Fort Adams.
[CREDIT: Mary Carlos] A wildly excited group from Nancy’s Barn, Ballyliffin Ireland celebrate their first place win for best seafood during the Great Chowder Cook-Off at Fort Adams, Newport.
[CREDIT: Mary Carlos] A wildly excited group from Nancy’s Barn, Ballyliffin Ireland celebrate their first place win for best seafood during the Great Chowder Cook-Off at Fort Adams, Newport.
[CREDIT: Mary Carlos] A wildly excited group from Nancy’s Barn, Ballyliffin Ireland celebrate their first place win for best seafood during the Great Chowder Cook-Off at Fort Adams, Newport.
[CREDIT: Mary Carlos] A wildly excited group from Nancy’s Barn, Ballyliffin Ireland celebrate their first place win for best seafood during the Great Chowder Cook-Off at Fort Adams, Newport.
[CREDIT: Mary Carlos] Bristol Plymouth Technical Regional High School/Culinary Program, Taunton MA, accept their first place win for Red Chowder during the Great Chowder Cook-Off at Fort Adams, Newport. This year was the first year an award was given for Red Chowder at the event.
[CREDIT: Mary Carlos] Bristol Plymouth Technical Regional High School/Culinary Program, Taunton MA, accept their first place win for Red Chowder during the Great Chowder Cook-Off at Fort Adams, Newport. This year was the first year an award was given for Red Chowder at the event.
[CREDIT: Mary Carlos] Chapel Grille, of Cranston RI won the award for most spirited team during the Great Chowder Cook-Off at Fort Adams, Newport.
[CREDIT: Mary Carlos] Chapel Grille, of Cranston RI won the award for most spirited team and best decorated booth during the Great Chowder Cook-Off at Fort Adams, Newport.
Rob Borkowski
Author: Rob Borkowski

Rob has worked as reporter and editor for several publications, including The Kent County Daily Times and Coventry Courier, before working for Gatehouse in MA then moving home with Patch Media. Now he's publisher and editor of WarwickPost.com. Contact him at [email protected] with tips, press releases, advertising inquiries, and concerns.

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