The Wachapreague Fireman’s Carnival Cake Wheel

Abstract

The Wachapreague Fireman's Carnival is unique only in its details in a place where homecomings of all varieties are occasions for long-standing celebrations. Throughout the Eastern Shore, favorite foods afford communions of remembrance and reminiscence. Where we eat speaks to the idea of terroir grounded in the places where folks share meals and conversation. Where we eat goes beyond experiences of breaking bread and maps and into how we know our place in the world, not just through what we eat, but also how we remember and speak of locale. The literal consumption of place nourishes our understandings of who we are. The power of taste is immersive, a deep plunge into a river of memory and flavor.