LEOMINSTER — Dozens of youngsters eagerly showcased their best drink recipes during the inaugural Super Incredibly Huge Lemonade (and other drinks) World Series held downtown on Tuesday evening. The Aug. 20 event drew a large crowd of thirsty people who were more than happy to sample the wide variety of refreshments as well as baked goods and other treats.
The kids who participated went all out with creative lemonade stands, many of them handmade and embellished with colorful decorations, and served up the drinks with smiles on their faces. City hall staff and Mayor Dean Mazzarella organized the well-attended affair. He announced on social media days before it that he recently visited the 250th lemonade stand he has been to during his three plus decades long tenure as mayor.
“Welcome to the biggest, the largest Lemonade World Series,” Mazzarella said as he walked through the crowd with a portable mic and speaker. You could feel the excitement in the air. Music played on the recently installed new state-of-the-art built-in sound system and there was a bubble machine, much to the delight of the kids who squealed with delight playing with the orbs.
Kids were yelling out “Come get your lemonade!” and someone even had a megaphone to attract customers. One person yelled out “it’s iconic!” about their drink offering and Mazzarella praised the “friendly competition.” “The turn out is great,” the mayor said as he surveyed the festive scene with a smile on his face.
“The weather is beautiful, and everybody really came out to support the kids.” There were many different types of lemonade and other specialty drinks to choose from including jalapeno lemonade and “anti-gravity” Minions themed blue raspberry lemonade that was a very cool blue and yellow ombré color. Rep.
Natalie Higgins enjoyed sipping on a lemonade infused with homemade blueberry puree and a splash of vanilla extract crafted by nine-year-old Mia Guillaume. “I’m really enjoying this,” Mia said with a big grin on her face. “I love that this is bringing us all together.
Everyone loves lemonade.” Her parents and siblings joined in on the fun and helped out at her stand. “This is such a fun family event,” said Mia’s mom Alison, who added that they moved to the city three years ago because of “the housing boom” – and that they are very happy with their new hometown.
“There’s always lots of family friendly activities,” Alison said. “We really enjoy it.” Young city resident Mackenzie Drolet, 8, and her friend Zailleigh Rose, 4, from Shirley stood behind a bright yellow pop-up lemonade stand.
They offered an elevated version of lemonade with homemade strawberry puree and a fresh strawberry perched on the rim of the cup to their customers. Mackenzie has something special in mind with the money she raises – she has been saving to help her uncle come visit from South Carolina. She recently gave her mom $14 she had saved, some of which came from offering to help with the recent Italian Festival earning her some bucks.
Milianny Rosado and Brynn Booth, both 11, decided to set up a lemonade stand because it gave them the opportunity to do something fun together. The two young women shared that they have been friends “since birth” and worked side by side to provide lemonade with the option of adding fruit flavored boba or edible glitter, handmade bracelets, and a pink or white frosted sugar cookie free with any purchase. Fellow 11-year-old Brooke Secino said she was planning to save the money she made.
She manned her black and white striped booth with her mom and older brother Reed, 13, standing by to lend a hand if needed. A plastic cup near her booth had writing on it declaring that Reed would be taking half the profits, which he said he would be using to save up for a PlayStation. Lifelong friends Milianny Rosado and Brynn Booth, both 11, decided to set up a lemonade stand because it gave them the opportunity to do something fun together.
(DANIELLE RAY/SENTINEL & ENTERPRISE)Leominster Police Department Officer Johangel Lorenzo, who graduated from the police academy in January, gave out police badge stickers to the kids, including nine-year-old Cammy Moran at her booth. Cammy disclosed the secret ingredient in her lemonade – fresh mint – and had a lemon wedge shaped fanny pack around her waist to hold the money she collected. Her mom said they did a lemonade stand in front of their home on Merriam Avenue on the Fourth of July that netted the kids an impressive $108.
She said members of both the police and fire departments stopped by that booth, which really meant a lot to them. There were a number of awards given out – most colorful stand, best classic lemonade, best family recipe, and most fun lemonade stand, to name a few. It was a city hall team effort to decide who got the awards, but in Mazzarella’s eyes, everyone was a winner.
“I’m so impressed with these, they are amazing,” he said of the booths while wandering around chatting with people and sampling the drinks and treats. “Every single one of them spent a lot of time on them, and that’s really what it’s all about. It’s the entrepreneurial bug that gets you excited.
I always had it myself.”.
