The hole thing

Posted on August 23, 2007 by John

I have just had my first Optimist Club donut of 2007 — nice and warm, brought back to the T-G by one of our display advertising reps, Janis Cannon.

If you go to Wimbledon, you must have the strawberries and clotted cream. If you attend the Kentucky Derby, a mint julep is de rigeur.

At the Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration, Optimist Club donuts are the signature food. They have the texture of a cake donut with the richness of a deep-fried donut, and they are just … wonderful. Most of the various civic club food booths at the Celebration are located inside the gated portion of the outdoor arena, and so they only open up in the evenings. But the VFW Food Booth and the Optimist Club Donut Booth are located in the barn area and are open all day. During the 10 days of the Celebration, offices from throughout Shelbyville will send someone to the Celebration grounds during the day just to pick up a few dozen donuts.

The Optimist Club donuts are by far the most famous and unique food item on the grounds, but some also think of country ham sandwiches, which are available from a variety of food booths. They’re good as well.

Luckily, I will have a chance to work this morning’s donut off as I go up and down the stairs to the press box tonight. I could swear it gets about 10 feet higher each year.

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  • http://richardsonzoo.blogspot.com Cheryl

    I LOVED Optimist doughnuts until high school. I became a member of the Octagon club, which required us to work a few shifts in the booth. I made myself sick!! I’ve never quite felt the same about them.

    It’s SO hot in there too with all the frying oil! Those people deserve a medal this year!

  • http://www.gavoweb.com gavin

    i don’t know if it is the same thing, but erin spoke at an optimist club meeting a few months back. until then we had never heard of such a group. certainly not their doughnuts.

  • http://richardsonzoo.blogspot.com Cheryl

    I LOVED Optimist doughnuts until high school. I became a member of the Octagon club, which required us to work a few shifts in the booth. I made myself sick!! I've never quite felt the same about them.

    It's SO hot in there too with all the frying oil! Those people deserve a medal this year!

  • http://lakeneuron.com John

    I’m sure that it’s part of the same nationwide organization, but I think the donuts are just a local thing. I don’t think that the Optimist Clubs in other towns necessarily sell donuts at their fund-raising events, and if they did they wouldn’t necessarily be the same donuts.

  • http://www.gavoweb.com gavin

    i don't know if it is the same thing, but erin spoke at an optimist club meeting a few months back. until then we had never heard of such a group. certainly not their doughnuts.

  • http://lakeneuron.com/2007/08/23/its-show-time/ Lake Neuron » It’s show time

    [...] The hole thing [...]

  • http://lakeneuron.com LakeNeuron

    I'm sure that it's part of the same nationwide organization, but I think the donuts are just a local thing. I don't think that the Optimist Clubs in other towns necessarily sell donuts at their fund-raising events, and if they did they wouldn't necessarily be the same donuts.

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