Saturday was all about the sausage.
Sausage on a stick or in a bun. Smothered in sauerkraut or topped with more traditional condiments. Didn’t matter the method. Clark County residents gobbled up thousands of the spicy dogs Saturday at St. Joseph Catholic School’s annual Sausage Fest in Vancouver.
Sarah Senko, 13, likes her sausage dog on a bun with kraut.
Her classmate Cheyenne Badger, 13, also opts for a bun, but hold the kraut. Cindy, Vu, 13, chooses sausage on a stick.
“I have it on a stick because I’m lazy,” she said.
While eating the event’s most prominent food isn’t a requirement, the St. Joe’s eighth-graders said most people do devour a dog or two.
Olivia Goodrich, 9, wasn’t interested in the sausages, though. She and her 5-year-old cousin Reese Danley had their eyes on something a little sweeter.
“Cotton candy!” they screamed when asked what they liked to eat at the festival.
The girls’ grandparents, Linda and Rick Danley, however, always grab a sausage dog.
“In a bun with kraut,” Rick Danley said. “The works.”
Linda Danley usually opts for a sausage on a stick. But, this year she’s reconsidering her decision.
“I can’t get the works on a stick,” she said.
The Danleys have attended the annual event on and off for the last 10 years. The event serves as a fundraiser for St. Joe’s, which is where their granddaughter Olivia is in the fourth grade.
The sausage booth was the first stop for Lexie Herman, Jason Markus and his daughter, 5-year-old Aubrey Markus. They each opted for a sausage in a bun. The adults added some sauerkraut; Aubrey stuck with ketchup.
Saturday was Herman’s first visit to the 41-year-old event.
“I’m actually surprised,” said Herman, a Portland resident. “I thought it was going to be a lot smaller. I was just expecting a few food carts with sausage.”
Herman said she giggled when she heard the name of the event, but, being a “fan of food,” she decided to check it out.
The sausages weren’t the only item on the trio’s menu. Markus also ate some corn on the cob, and, before leaving, the three of them planned to check out the dessert options.
The corn on the cob is must-have for 79-year-old Bud Webster of La Center. He’s been coming to the event for at least the last 10 years.
After grabbing a piece of corn, Webster headed for a shaded spot at a picnic table and took in some of the Irish music and dancers performing on stage.
