Hundreds of hungry poutine-lovers gobble up festival tickets

Windsor's popular Poutine Fest is moving to a bigger venue this year, but it's apparently still not large enough to accommodate fans of the calorie-laden treat.

Windsor's Poutine Fest moved to a bigger location this year, but it's still sold out

CBC News ·
Fries, gravy and cheese curds, take-out made by the Sugar Shack in Lake Williams, B.C. (Simon Charland/CBC)

Windsor's popular Poutine Fest is moving to a bigger venue this year, but it's apparently still not large enough to accommodate fans of the calorie-laden treat.

The Francophone Centre of Windsor has had sell-outs the past four years, so it booked space at Central Park Athletics for Friday night.

    Another sold-out crowd is expected, this time 600-strong.

    "It's a Canadian thing to do, as far as poutine is concerned," explained Anthony Dalupan, who will be the chef at the new home of Poutine Fest. "I mean, there's a lot of French Canadians that live in this area, so they want to celebrate what's really popular to them, so this makes sense."

    Poutine is the most iconic of Quebec dish. It's now enjoyed all over the world. 3:05

    Didier Marotte is the executive director of the festival. He said a key ingredient is brought to Windsor by a friend who is a truck driver.

    "He purposely takes a load to Quebec, picks up our cheese and brings it back to us fresh, and we don't get the small curds. We get the big curds, because that's what we're told people prefer," he said. "It's fresh and it has that squishiness, smooseshness, I not sure what you call it, but it really literally squeaks in your mouth."

      If you missed out on getting a ticket for Poutine Fest, there is another chance coming up. A promoter plans to stage an entire poutine weekend at the Festival Plaza in June.