Travelling poutine festival in Hamilton offering over 50 types of Canada’s iconic dish

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Published May 12, 2023 at 1:11 pm

Photo courtesy of Poutine Feast

The Poutine Feast festival has travelled to 22 cities across Ontario, serving over 98,000 guests with some 50 different kinds of the classic Canadian dish.

Poutine Feast, which bills itself as “Canada’s biggest travelling poutine festival” featuring award-winning food professionals, is back in Hamilton from Thursday, May 11 to Sunday, May 14. Admission is free, though if there are long lineups, a $40 VIP “skip-the-line” option is available.

It’s open at Gage Park (1000 Main St. E.) from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. all days, except Sunday, when it ends at 6 p.m.

Poutine feast

There will be activities such as jumbo Jenga, face painting and balloons for kids and the young at heart.

Started in 2018, Poutine Feast is owned and operated by four individuals who wanted to showcase  “the best poutine that Ontario has to offer,” including gluten-free and vegan options.

Jamie Lynch, the festival’s marketing and advertising coordinator, says those involved in the festival are “very passionate” about the signature Canadian dish. “You can make it your own and take it in so many different ways, and it’s just absolutely delicious,” she told inthehammer.com in a phone interview.

The festival not only offers options for meat lovers, but also for those with vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free preferences.

Examples of the dishes, ranging from $11 to $22, include Halifax donair poutine (Lynch’s favourite) with seasoned beef, sweet garlic sauce, tomatoes and onions, butter chicken poutines, tater tots poutines and the crowd favourite: the double bacon cheeseburger poutine.

Lynch says the latter was often voted the favourite poutine of the weekend. (A Poutine Judging Contest will be held Sunday.) Deep-fried curds in poutines are also popular.

There will also be other treats, such as hand-dipped corn dogs and a candy truck offering everything from mini doughnuts and popcorn to cotton candy and candy corn.

The festival will feature live music today (Friday) from 6 to 9 p.m. from Hamilton blues musician and singer-songwriter Alfie Smith.

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