Lee — With a beautiful night and perfect early fall temperatures, Lee residents turned out in droves for the annual Taste of Lee celebration. The September 20 event marked the start of this year’s Founders Day weekend with a lot of fanfare, including local restaurant grub, Irish dancing (see video below), live music, and fireworks. It was hosted by the Lee Chamber of Commerce.
According to Town Administrator Christopher Brittain, residents look forward to the community event each year, with 2024’s showing boasting a “great turnout.” “The weather’s been good, and the streets are packed, and everyone’s having a great time,” he said during the program. “We look forward to this for businesses on Main Street to offer different foods from the restaurants and showcase our commercial district in downtown Lee.”
Brittain offered “a big thank you” to the Lee Chamber of Commerce, as well as the town volunteers who helped make the project a success.
Wafting through the air on Main Street was the delectable smell of hamburgers and hot dogs, courtesy of team members from the Berkshire Antique Fire Apparatus Association. Association President Bill DeFreest said the grill kiosk is an annual Friday-night tradition, followed up by a parade appearance and an antique fire apparatus show on Saturday at Lee Bank. The tradition started a few years ago, with a portion of this year’s profits donated to a local charity.
Starving Artist Café & Creperie owner Emmy Davis featured her apple blueberry crisp, apple butternut squash bisque, and an assortment of baked goods. She has participated in the Taste of Lee for the past 13 years. “It’s going great,” Davis said during the evening. Optimistically, she has found the event day weather to be “always good.”
For local resident Susan Olds, the event was a means of bonding her community. “The town’s willing to shut down the street for the safety for the children and families to enjoy everything,” she said. “It brings everyone together.”
For Maryann Simmons, a lifelong, 77-year Lee resident, the evening offered a chance to try the wings and rice at Alpamayo Peruvian Cuisine. “I come every year,” she said of the Founders Day weekend. “I love it.”
Six-year-old Scephen Miller was delighted to have her face painted, a top goal for her evening, and Zoe Griffin called the roasted marshmallow she tried for the first time “chewy.” Rebecca Lilley eyed her kiosk’s coffers filling up on behalf of the Lee Elementary School Parent Teacher Organization, with those funds earmarked to purchase annual school supplies and fund student assemblies and field trips.
The evening marked a dual event for Salmon Run Fish House owners Dawn and Paul Face as the couple also celebrated their restaurant’s 25th anniversary, offering chowder, lobster rolls, clams, and French fries. “There’s a lot of people out here tonight,” Paul Face said. “It’s very nice.” Paul Face recalls the current Founders Day and Taste of Lee programs as larger events than in the past. As for the next 25 years? “We’ll shoot for it and see what happens,” he said. “We’re just going to keep doing what we’ve been doing for the last 25 years.”
