Squid eating contest set for Sunday the 16th (you heard right)

By Craig Westcott / July 7, 2023

No little boy will get it right in the eye, but if you do get cranky without your silk hanky, you better steer clear of what is likely to be one of the most entertaining events of Squidfest again this year.

The Calamari Easting Competition, sponsored by The Station Diner and held at the festival grounds, is slated for 3 p.m., Sunday, July 16.

Teams of two will face off to see which duo can scarf down the most squid.

“It’s not for everybody,” admitted The Station Diner’s Heather King, laughing.

And while the calamari will not be the same as what is served in the restaurant nearby, the Diner’s chefs will prepare it to be tasty, she said.

“We do up trays of breaded squid, then they all sit around the table, and they have a time limit to eat the tray of squid,” she said. “It’s usually about 1 kg of squid.”

The Station Diner has been sponsoring the contest and preparing the calamari since the competition was introduced to Squidfest about a decade ago.

What happened was that a couple of tourists from Texas pointed out to the Town that while the Squidfest was designed to celebrate Holyrood’s heritage and attachment to squid jigging – as immortalized in the famous song by Arthur Scammell – there were few if any squid-related events in it. So, Town staff, councillors and volunteers threw their lines in the water, so to speak, to come up with an event that would put the squid in Squidfest and someone snagged on the notion of a calamari eating contest. The rest as they say is squistory. These days the festival boasts a squid mascot, food vendors sell squid, and the calamari eating contest is an established, and popular, part of the festival’s Sunday Fun Day.

Is there a big line up of competitors?

“Not a huge lot,” King admitted. “And I’m not sure why, because there are prizes involved. Usually there are five or six teams.”

While many festival goers may be reluctant to partake in the contest and try gobbling down over two pounds of squid, they sure love watching it. 

“It’s a fun project,” said King. “And don’t forget that Holyrood is the home of the Squid Jigging Ground.”

As for calamari the dish, King said it is hugely popular at the Diner. “Here at the restaurant, we do it in a very light dusting (of batter),” she said. “And we do it with hot peppers. It’s delicious.”