PORTLAND, Maine (PRWEB) February 13, 2018 -- Maine author, L.E. Barrett, Hallowell native, never imagined his one-act play, Waiting for Goulash, would be the spark to ignite The Goulash Wars of Matagorda, Texas. Barrett wrote the play for submission to a Maine writing contest. The play consists of three characters riding a nighttime bus from Bangor to Boston, one of whom is a woman carrying a Dutch oven and a recipe for prize-winning goulash.
The goulash debate began in editing when Barrett was challenged that his recipe was American Chop Suey, but he held firm that his mother’s goulash was noodle based. Barrett travels several months in the winter in an RV and planned to meet with friends in Matagorda. It was decided that the Barretts, Colombos (Detroit MI), and Bouchard/Harpers (Old Town ME) would have a goulash cook off while in Texas. Anna Bouchard was at a Matagorda party in December and happened to mention the idea to a local Lions Club member. Anna was immediately embraced by the local Lions as Event Coordinator and it was decided that February 10th would be the 1st Annual Matagorda Goulash Wars to benefit the local Lions Club scholarship fund.
The event was held with 17 goulash participants, about 75 attendees, and a large selection of silent auction items. It was a lot of fun both for the local townspeople and the campers from all over the country who have found the coastal treasure that is Matagorda, Texas. The Lions Club scholarship fund received over $3,000. Radio station KKHA 92.5, Bay City TX, covered the event, and interesting coincidence DJ Jeff Michaels lived in Portland ME in the 1990s. First place went to Ray Lyons of Bandera TX; second place Tim Harper of Old Town ME; third place to Mary Ann Derrich of Matagorda TX. We are now planning the date for the 2nd Annual Matagorda Goulash Wars for 2019.
L.E. Barrett resides in Monroe, Maine and is the author of FiddleMainia, The Blueberry Coast, The Dandelion Conspiracy, and The Kennebec River Trilogy: The Boys from Joppa, Dummers Lane, and the soon-to-be-released The Valley of Good and Evil.
L. E. Barrett, Snitch, http://lebarrett.com, +1 2079300792, [email protected]
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