Beacon Cupcake Festival Gives Summer a Sweet Start
Brianna Valentin
This past weekend, those looking to satisfy their sweet tooth found bliss at the Cupcake Festival in Beacon. Over 70 local bakeries, food vendors, and shops set up their tents on Main Street to showcase their sweet creations. There was over 25,000 cupcakes baked for the event.
According to the Poughkeepsie Journal, Patrick McKeon, festival co-founder and promotions director at radio station K104.7, created the event which started out as an on-air segment with “Woodman in the Morning.” This festival has been taking place in the Hudson Valley for seven years and draws a larger audience each year.
Some unique cupcake ideas were showcased at this year’s event. Alcohol infused cupcakes were a trend and there were various spins on traditional flavors. A few eye catching concoctions included: sangria, margarita, vanilla chai, Nutella Ferrero Rocher, and bacon cupcakes. There were also numerous gluten-free and vegan cupcake options.
Sweet Obsessions, a bakery cafe specializing in gluten-free, vegan, and traditional desserts took on the alcohol infused cake trend and caught attention from Cinco de Mayo celebration seekers. Christine Fulton, founder of the Sweet Obsessions, said they made about 1400 cupcakes for the event. “We are a new bakery, only one year old, so what better way to get more exposure than to be a part of one of the largest bakery centered events in the Hudson Valley,” Fulton said. She replaces dairy products for apple sauces, oils, and other dairy substitutes to ensure her cupcakes can accommodate those who have vegan diets.
Not only did healthy and diet cautious cupcake options steal the stage, mini cupcakes and cake balls won the hearts of many leaning towards portion control.
Vanessa Mack, founder of Ms. Vee’s Sweet Treats, offers a wide array of mini cupcakes. Mack had one of the longest lines at the event and people raved about the flavor packed into her gourmet minis. Out of the 1500 cupcakes she made for the event, her most popular flavors were blueberry-lemon, pina colada, red velvet, and strawberry.
A banker by day and a baker by night, Mack turned a hobby into a profitable business. She received numerous requests after baking for family and work events, so much that she decided to start her own cupcake business.
She does the traditional cupcake size, but found the public really loves minis. “Sometimes you have to find your niche, especially when everyone is baking the same thing,” Mack said, “I found that minis were my niche,” Mack said.
“Baking for events like the Cupcake Festival is a lot of work, but I love to see people’s reactions when they taste it,” Mack said. For bakers and customers, they can both agree that cupcakes make everyone’s day a little sweeter.
