SACC Baking Contest: Filled with Rich History, Transitioned for More Fun
By Abby Haney
Young participant Reed Tomford smiles as he cooks in the kitchen for the new Sandy Historical Society Museum baking contest. The museum is reviving the SACC baking contest that occurred from 2017-2019.
During Sandy’s Mt. Festival, the smell of sweet treats drifts through the air from various vendors. Ten years ago, the smell and tasting of treats were available from various kids and one kid's treat earned a prize. The Sandy Chamber of Commerce (SACC) bake off event during the festival was a growing tradition that ended in 2018. This year, the same experience will be back but with the Sandy Historical Society Museum.
While they focus on businesses, supporting the town is equally important. Before the kids’ baking contest, the Sandy Chamber hosted a talent show during the Sandy Mountain Festival. SACC hosts Sandy Music Fair & Feast during the festival as their largest fundraising event. During the Saturday family events, kids could partake in the talent show.
“It [the talent show] was fun and helping the community and giving the kids something to do,” Jones said.
The talent show proved to be difficult to fill with participants; the coordinator was from Molalla so many contestants traveled and weren’t local, adding to the challenge. The coordinator passed due to cancer and without her knowledge, SACC decided to switch tactics.
“We started out doing this talent show on Saturdays but it was really hard to get enough people to come in,” Jones said. The last talent show was held in 2016.
After SACC stopped the talent show, Jones brought up the idea of a bake off for kids and chilli cook off for adults. SACC didn’t plan to abandon the event but reconstructed it into a different format.
“Without her to get all those participants, we decided to do something different and so I had the idea of doing a bake off and a chilli feed,” Jones said. The bake off was also during the Saturday of Sandy Mountain Festival.
The bake was from 2017 to 2019 but over that time, the participant number rose. It started with less than 10 and ended with 40 participants. Originally, it started out as one whole event but due to the high numbers, it split into two separate age groups (juniors age 5-11 and teens 12-17).
“We got to the point where it was too big and it would take over the entire Saturday and we didn’t have seating,” Jones said. “It just outgrew itself.” The chilli cook off on the other hand never gained as much traction as the bake off.
The bake off ended a couple years prior to 2020 due its size. SACC couldn’t keep up with the demand and lacked time in the day to continue the event.
SACC didn’t plan to stop the event entirely but instead reconstructed it again into a manageable format, which they found in bingo. The quarterly Family Bingo event replaced the bake off and brought the same enjoyment from all.
“We decided to go a different direction at that point. That’s when we started the family bingo during the day,” Jones said.
The Bingo event, like the bake off, has produced lots of attention but due to its nature, it's able to handle the high number of people. This year, the bingo is expanding to have more time and allow more participants.
“This year we’re adding a second hour of up to two different rounds of bingo,” Jones said.
While the bake off ended with SACC, the museum is revving history by bringing it back this month. On May 30, kids will bring in their baked treats that will be judged to determine one winner. The museum is bringing history to life and even includes two age groups and tasting by community members, simulating the experience all over again.
Abby Haney is the Editor-In-Chief at Sandy High School for the Pioneer Press and is a writer at large for The Sandy Historical Society and The Sandy Standard.
