Somerville hosts the Marshmallow Fluff Festival at Union Square on September 21
Peanut butter and fluff is easy to prepare
How to make a peanut butter fluff sandwich, also known as a “fluffernutter.”
SOMERVILLE — What the hell?
That’s not an unusual question if you’ve attended the annual “What the Fluff?” A Tribute to Union Square Innovation Festival, a Somerville tradition that has honored the invention of marshmallow fluff for 19 years.
More than 20,000 visitors are expected to attend this year’s event, which will take place on Somerville Avenue (from School Street to Washington Street) from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday (or Sunday if it rains).
Marshmallow Fluff, which goes great with peanut butter or in a cup of hot chocolate, was invented in Somerville in 1917 by Archibald Query.
Organized by Union Square Main Streets and the Somerville Arts Council, the annual festival pays homage to the invention’s local roots and draws people to the Union Square neighborhood, which is home to more than 200 independent businesses.
Spread sweetness: Celebrate National Fluffernutter Day by trying these fluff-based treats
“Supporting small businesses brings so many benefits to the entire neighborhood,” said Jessica Eshleman, executive director of Union Square Main Streets. “We’re making it a wonderful place and connecting people to Union Square as a destination.”
What can you expect at this year’s What the Fluff? Festival?
“Expect the unexpected,” Eshleman said.
A team of volunteers began planning the four-hour festival in February.
“This is a celebration of innovation. There’s a long history of the folks at Marshmallow Fluff being really inventive and innovative,” Eshleman said.
The theme of this year’s festival is “Somerville Over the Rainbow: No Place Like Fluff” and is designed to showcase the tastes, sights, sounds and innovations of the shops of Union Square.
Visitors are encouraged to dress in their most colorful outfits (red shoes, rainbow clothing). Pets can also join in and follow the “Marshmallow” road to more than 70 vendors offering Fluff products, musical entertainment and free Fluff games for all ages such as Fluff Musical Chairs, Fluff Limbo and Fluff Tournament.
Don’t be afraid to get sticky. One of the chairs in the fluff game Musical Chairs will be covered in a pile of fluff. The limbo pole will be smeared with fluff.
One of the highlights of the day is left until the end: the Fluff Hairstyle Competition. The contestants pair up, armed with a jar of peanut butter and fluff. In each team, one person is the hairdresser and the other is the model.
“You should look at the wild hairstyles that people are doing because marshmallow fluff sticks and makes the hair stand on end, and the peanut butter is just another way for the contestants to express their creativity,” Eshleman said.
Further highlights:
- Union Square Main Streets board member Mike Katz will impersonate Fluff creator Archibald Query.
- The Boston Figurative Art Center will create drawings of clothed figures and still lifes with fluff motifs
- Buenas makes Fluff Chocolate Chip Cookie Empanadas
- Hot Box lets Nutella Fluff melt on homemade milk bread
- Skritches and Boops will create fluff-themed dog treats
All fluff used during the event will be donated by Durkee-Mower Inc., the Lynn-based manufacturer of Marshmallow Fluff.
For a map and full event schedule, visit the Fluff Festival website at flufffestival.com.
“There is something for everyone,” said Eshleman. What she likes most is seeing the joy, curiosity or surprise of the participants.
