Miles From Home: 3.8
Dates: Aug. 6th-16th
August 6th, 2009, sees the beginning of the Palermo's Pizza Tour's biggest event to date: the Wisconsin State Fair! Over the eleven day event, somewhere in the neighborhood of one million food, fun and agricultural enthusiasts flock to the Milwaukee area (West Allis to be exact) to partake in the exhibitions and competitions which make Wisconsin such a great state to inhabit and work in!
The home of Palermo's Pizza for the extent of the fair is the Wisconsin Products Pavilion. This building houses only exhibitors and vendors from within the state; Palermo's proudly meets such a criterion! Having been made in Milwaukee since 1964, we find ourselves a stone's throw away from the grounds and happily sleeping in our own beds at night!
Entering the fair on a record setting first day, the Palermo's crew is raring to get the event going in a timely and efficient manner. Rain and the climate controlled facility, as well as a well advertised coupon in the State Fair book, help draw crowds inside to sample some of Palermo's finest Rustico products. Many new people are discovering the plethora of tastes which dance and sing on their taste buds like a well trained Russian ballet troupe! The interest in Palermo's is so high that Barb will be quite busy in the coming months giving tours of our lovely facilities!
Every other day finds the real Palermo's go-getters involved in a pizza eating contest! A quarter of a Rustico pizza is devoured by a group of contestants hungry for victory and a shot at Italian culinary immortality like a pack of howling wolves! The contest caps off a presentation of Palermo's facts and pizza history that is enough to intrigue all in attendance.
Up to their usual antics, the Pizza Tour crew passes the long hours and days entertaining customers with fabled stories of yore from adventures on the road, as well as an occasional dance move. Ideas such as a starring role for Palermo's in a Star Wars spin-off titled "The Rise of the Rustico" and a reality series loosely based on the escapades of the Buffalo Chicken Style pizza in suburban New York abound.
A giant thank you goes out to all of our vendor friends and colleagues: Jill and Rhonda in the Products Pavilion, the crew across the hallway at Cedar Crest, Jackie and Kelly from the Badgers and Brewers, the cranberry ladies who could melt your heart anytime of the day with their smiles and kind words, Howling Wolf BBQ Sauce (my new sauce and shampoo of choice), everyone at the confections booth and, well, frankly all in the Pavilion and at the fair! But no one deserves a thank you quite like all of the patrons who help make State Fair an overwhelmingly successful event annually. Without you, we would be useless!
We served 15,000 slices when all was said and done! On to the Iowa State Fair and every experience lurking right behind every corner!
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The Wisconsin State Fair and Palermo's: a True Original!
After a glorious Wisconsin State Fair we set out to see what our neighbor to the Southwest has to offer. The Iowa State Fair has a reputation of being one of the highest attended fairs in the United States, and we found out why real fast. The fairgrounds are immaculate! Many of the buildings are brand new. The streets are kept clean by many hard-working people. As we arrive the pride of Iowans shows through in everything. And this time around Palermo's Pizza has something to offer.
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Stop # 8: Mini Wisconsin Road Trip #2 & Bears Training Camp
posted by Palermos Blogger
:
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
@
8:52 PM
Stop #9 Iowa State Fair
posted by Palermos Blogger
:
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
@
1:01 PM
Miles from home: 376
Aug. 14th-18th
After a glorious Wisconsin State Fair we set out to see what our neighbor to the Southwest has to offer. The Iowa State Fair has a reputation of being one of the highest attended fairs in the United States, and we found out why real fast. The fairgrounds are immaculate! Many of the buildings are brand new. The streets are kept clean by many hard-working people. As we arrive the pride of Iowans shows through in everything. And this time around Palermo's Pizza has something to offer.Fairgoers arrive to the sight of one of the greatest phrases ever...FREE PIZZA! For twelve straight hours we give away Palermo's Primo Thin Crust pizzas. Many people try the Grilled Chicken Caesar for the first time and are blown away by the amazing flavor. I think we just made a few more customers. Not only is the Caesar a hit, many fair-goers are claiming that the Breakfast Pizza is one of the greatest foods ever created!
'People watching' at the fair is always the most enjoyable pastime, and it's cheap too! When a child is on a leash dragging their mom to the free pizza stand, it makes you wonder, who's in charge? Friday night rolls around and we are blown away by what we heard from a fair-going-sampler, "Do y'all like Head East? Cuz they're playing right behind you." We respond with a collective "YES!" Head East went on to play the same play list they have been playing for the past 40 years. One of the greatest songs of classic rock "Never Been Any Reason" echoes through the night as we pack up the trailer. But wait, do you hear that? Is that...yes it is a KEYTAR!!! It is not every day that you can listen to a jam session like that!
As we stroll around we get our fill of other free samples: ice cream bars, ice cream cones, salsa, BBQ, and the best of all tender, delicious pork! The Iowa State Fair is the largest platform for Palermo's Pizza exposure. After all is said and done, we sampled 20,352 slices of pizza. That is almost more than we have sampled the entire summer!!!
We have had the next weekend circled on our calendar since our first trip to Kansas City. While we return to the great Midwest metropolis we look forward to visiting many grocery store friends and of course eating everything we possibly can covered with delicious barbeque sauce.
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posted by Palermos Blogger
:
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
@
12:52 PM
Total Miles Traveled: 566
July 31th - Aug 3rd
Wow. Where is the time going? Is it really the end of July already? It feels like we just began this Palermo's adventure yesterday!
It is Friday July 31st and Kevin, Jake and Katie are traveling to Appleton for another dose of Wisconsin's single-A Timber Rattlers. I can't stress enough how gorgeous this stadium is, especially for being more than 10 years old. Our signage is looking great out in left field. A large thank-you is in order for Nick the intern. We are having truck problems (again) and he is being a saint chauffeuring us back and forth all evening. As always, we continue to stay positive and fight through the adversity. Fridays crowd is smaller than usual, due to the fact that EAA is starting this weekend. The EAA crowd is missing out on 7 cases of free pizza. Our ears are still recovering from last weeks air show, so instead of seeing more aerial feats, we head to Vince Lombardi's steakhouse. The steak and potatoes are flowing, and our smiles are wide and glowing.
The first day of August greets us with heavy winds and abundant sunshine. We are heading to the (slightly) famous Grignon Park disc golf course in Kaukana. The front 9 is great! Katie is not an avid disc golfer, so she is going to catch up on her reading. Anyways, the day 2 of sampling at Fox Cities Stadium awaits us. A swing band is playing outside next to us, so that's providing us with a little push. Crowd attendance is down again, but for those who are getting free pizza, it doesn't matter! After sampling another 7 cases, we are making the short drive to Madison.
Sunday August 2nd brings us to the Alliant Energy Center, located right off the Beltline in Madison. The finish line for a Multiple Sclerosis benefit ride ends here today. The parking lot is bustling with hundreds of volunteers, massage therapists, and also - a baby fox. Naturally, we are naming him Palermo the Fox. He looks like he could use some pizza, but his nerves get the best of him as he scampers away. In the meantime, the Charlie Horse from Madison's Charlie FM pays us a visit. His spatula-handling skills are second to none. Sarah, the Promotions Director at Charlie FM, pays us a few visits as well and keeps us entertained. The Charlie booth is serving up Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream, which is really good news for Jake. Bikers start piling in a little after noon. Most use what little energy they have left and walk on over for some free slices. A very successful day, we are going through 16 cases very quickly. Immediately after the events conclusion, we will head south to give Bears' fans free pizza tomorrow morning.
Monday morning came and the putrid navy & orange colors filled our eyes with sorrow. Today we will be serving up our NFC north rival fan base in Bourbannais, IL, home of the Chicago Bears training camp. Olivet Nazerene University has a stunningly beautiful campus. The road to the campus grounds is jam-packed, and there are thousands of cars parked to see their beloved team. A reported 9,000 fans watched Sunday's practice. Our location is great, as fans must walk by our trailer to get to the practice fields. Fans are pleased to learn that we are a sponsor of the Bears this year, and will be sold in Soldier Field all season. A total of 13 cases will be sampled today to hungry kids wanting autographs (of players, not us for some reason). After a long weekend, and many miles of orange construction barrels, it's certainly nice to be back in Milwaukee.
Speaking of, Milwaukee plays host to the 11 day adventure known as the Wisconsin State Fair starting this week! You'd better pay us a visit. We'll tell you all about the tour over a cream puff or two!
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July 31th - Aug 3rd
Wow. Where is the time going? Is it really the end of July already? It feels like we just began this Palermo's adventure yesterday!
It is Friday July 31st and Kevin, Jake and Katie are traveling to Appleton for another dose of Wisconsin's single-A Timber Rattlers. I can't stress enough how gorgeous this stadium is, especially for being more than 10 years old. Our signage is looking great out in left field. A large thank-you is in order for Nick the intern. We are having truck problems (again) and he is being a saint chauffeuring us back and forth all evening. As always, we continue to stay positive and fight through the adversity. Fridays crowd is smaller than usual, due to the fact that EAA is starting this weekend. The EAA crowd is missing out on 7 cases of free pizza. Our ears are still recovering from last weeks air show, so instead of seeing more aerial feats, we head to Vince Lombardi's steakhouse. The steak and potatoes are flowing, and our smiles are wide and glowing.
The first day of August greets us with heavy winds and abundant sunshine. We are heading to the (slightly) famous Grignon Park disc golf course in Kaukana. The front 9 is great! Katie is not an avid disc golfer, so she is going to catch up on her reading. Anyways, the day 2 of sampling at Fox Cities Stadium awaits us. A swing band is playing outside next to us, so that's providing us with a little push. Crowd attendance is down again, but for those who are getting free pizza, it doesn't matter! After sampling another 7 cases, we are making the short drive to Madison.
Sunday August 2nd brings us to the Alliant Energy Center, located right off the Beltline in Madison. The finish line for a Multiple Sclerosis benefit ride ends here today. The parking lot is bustling with hundreds of volunteers, massage therapists, and also - a baby fox. Naturally, we are naming him Palermo the Fox. He looks like he could use some pizza, but his nerves get the best of him as he scampers away. In the meantime, the Charlie Horse from Madison's Charlie FM pays us a visit. His spatula-handling skills are second to none. Sarah, the Promotions Director at Charlie FM, pays us a few visits as well and keeps us entertained. The Charlie booth is serving up Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream, which is really good news for Jake. Bikers start piling in a little after noon. Most use what little energy they have left and walk on over for some free slices. A very successful day, we are going through 16 cases very quickly. Immediately after the events conclusion, we will head south to give Bears' fans free pizza tomorrow morning.
Monday morning came and the putrid navy & orange colors filled our eyes with sorrow. Today we will be serving up our NFC north rival fan base in Bourbannais, IL, home of the Chicago Bears training camp. Olivet Nazerene University has a stunningly beautiful campus. The road to the campus grounds is jam-packed, and there are thousands of cars parked to see their beloved team. A reported 9,000 fans watched Sunday's practice. Our location is great, as fans must walk by our trailer to get to the practice fields. Fans are pleased to learn that we are a sponsor of the Bears this year, and will be sold in Soldier Field all season. A total of 13 cases will be sampled today to hungry kids wanting autographs (of players, not us for some reason). After a long weekend, and many miles of orange construction barrels, it's certainly nice to be back in Milwaukee.
Speaking of, Milwaukee plays host to the 11 day adventure known as the Wisconsin State Fair starting this week! You'd better pay us a visit. We'll tell you all about the tour over a cream puff or two!
0 Comments | post comment