Cookies and Carversville

Calling all cookie masters! Here’s your chance to compete and show off your best. Carversville Day is this Saturday, May 16th and in addition to a host of fun activities, there will be a Cookie Contest.

“My favorite part is when everyone brings their entries to the cookie booth in the morning,” says Howard Barsky, Cookie Chairperson (great title), who has been running the Cookie Contest for the last six or so years. “Everyone is very proud of their cookies. It’s very sweet and old-fashioned.”

How does it work? Contestants must bring 4 dozen cookies to the Cookie Booth between 8:30 am and 10 am. The best cookie is decided by popular vote (the cookies are sold as a fundraiser) and the winner receives a cookie jar made by local artisan Nan Kirstein. A celebrity judge chooses winners in four additonal categories: best presentation, best brownie, most healthy and most chocolate-y.

In case you’ve never been, Carversville is a beautiful little village just northeast of Doylestown. The main square is at the intersection of Carversville and Aquetong Roads. Every year the village comes together and puts on a grand day including food, crafters, music and the Pet Parade (at noon).

This year the Pet Parade will actually be a parade. “The whole day is centered around it,” says Barsky, “but the best part is the awards at the end. It’s kind of customized.” As an example, he tells about the year that one dog, wearing a tie-dyed t-shirt, got the “Jerry Garcia Memorial Award.”

In addition to cookies, there will be  hot dogs and hamburgers, pulled pork, grilled shrimp, and the famous Carversville Inn crab cakes. There will also be more crafters this year, and live music in the morning and afternoon.

But most of all its an opportunity to taste a bit of village life. “Carversville is a pretty amazing place,” shares Barsky, who is also the town dentist. “It’s a great community, and I feel honored to be a part of it.” His favorite aspect of the day is just getting to see everyone in town.

“It almost doesn’t matter what happens,” he says. “Just spending time with people makes the day great.”