HAVERHILL — Forget baked ham and scalloped potatoes. This Christmas, it's all about the spaghetti sauce.
The 17th annual Christmas Stroll on Dec. 4 will feature the Spaghetti Sauce Challenge. The popular event is usually held in conjunction with the city's Italian Festival in October, but it was canceled because of inclement weather.
You don't have to be Italian to enter — just ask Maryann Zito. Her meatless marinara sauce took first place four years ago, then second the following two years, and then first place last year.
"When I first entered the contest four years ago, my daughter told me my sauce was good but that I'm not Italian," said Zito, 53, of Haverhill, whose heritage is French. "This contest gives people who aren't Italian a chance to prove they can make good Italian food."
Zito doesn't want to scare anyone away.
"I've been beaten before," she said. "If you think your sauce is good, just enter the contest."
This year's stroll on Dec. 4 is from 5 to 8 p.m. along Washington, Merrimack and Wingate streets in downtown Haverhill and will feature live entertainment, gingerbread house decorating, hay rides, shopping, a visit with Santa, caroling, the annual tree lighting in Washington Square, and more.
The Spaghetti Sauce Challenge will be from 5 to 6:45 p.m. at the Garibaldi Club, 80 Washington St. Meat and meatless sauces are welcome, but there is a limit of 20 sauces of each. Early entries are encouraged and there is a fee of $20 to enter.
The public can vote for favorite sauces, which will be displayed and served anonymously. This year's entries include a few carry-overs from October along with new entries, with more coming in. The deadline to enter is Dec. 2. Winners of the best meatless and meat sauces receive $100 along with chef aprons and their names on a new plaque to be on display at the Garibaldi Club for one year. There are $50 prizes for the two second-place finishers and $25 for the two third-place finishers. To enter the challenge, contact the Greater Haverhill Chamber of Commerce at 978-373-5663 or Leanne@haverhillchamber.com. Visit online at www.celebratehaverhill.com.
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