When describing the community relationship between Season’s Tavern and the Pepper Festival, its passing-right-by parade, and broader North Hudson village, it goes by the numbers, not only the sometimes hotter than hot peppers.
Whether the impetus is Italian eats or even as far afield as Trinidad for a signature Season’s sauce, this is how the numbers stack up:
— One, the number of times owner Brad has been named the fest’s Good Neighbor, that being this year, meaning that he will have a presence both at his restaurant/bar for the course of the event and at the nextdoor grounds itself. Brad’s pervasive connection to the local community, which is directly tied to his restaurant, was cited as getting him the annual Good Neighbor honor for the event, to be held Aug. 19-21.
— Zero, the number of staffers who do not live in the immediate North Hudson area, in an industry where border hopping with Minnesota is frequent among workers and where a lot of college kids actually reside in River Falls and work at other venues in the Hudson area.
— Five, the number of minutes and/or miles, depending on traffic, that Brad himself lives away from the tavern where he is a continual presence and for all practical purposes, away from the fest’s site itself.
— Thirty, the approximate number of walking steps Season’s lies from crossing the intersection with Sixth Street North, that leads directly to the fest’s grounds.
— Eleven, the number of days in advance where Season’s put out the call for entries to its Aug. 20 wicked wings eating challenge, posting the invitation on their sign and giving a can-you-handle-it hot stuff contest alternative. It starts at 2:30 p.m.
— Two or three, the number of peppers in the world that Season’s staffers say are hotter than those used in the their contest, sporting a signature homemade sauce based on Trinidad scorpion peppers.
— Five, the number of minutes a potential Season’s eating contest winner has to sit and “digest,” both mentally and physically, the eating ordeal that he or she has just undergone.
— Dozens, the number of people enjoying both the Season’s wings challenge and still, its synergy with the hot pepper and spaghetti eating contests a block or so away.
— More than six, the number of summers that Season’s has been a direct adjunct to Pepper Fest, with Brad at the helm and leading the way at the storied North Hudson business site.
— Also six, the number of years that what is essentially the Season’s house band, Thisty Camel, has performed over Pepper Fest weekend, with Brad on drums (meaning that especially this year, he will have to be everywhere, and still find time to get behind the drum kit). That means that camel will indeed be thirsty, if not bone dry, since the performance immediately follows the eating contest. Brad adds that the timing of scheduling music and contests at Pepperfest, or alternatively at Season’s, is intentionally staggered to let people enjoy as much of both categories as possible, as part of the great arrangement that the two entities have with one another.
— Three, the number of other bands at Pepper Fest directly, that show typical fare (Maiden Dixie on Friday night and The Dweebs on Sunday night), and with the only one steering away from the tried and true being Paisan on Saturday night. Meanwhile, Seasons offers both a musical and eating contest alternative, and while this is an Italian fest, don’t forget the many varieties of the famed Season’s walleye, along with perhaps a beer at one site or another, to wash down all that smokin’ hot food.
It’s all part of being a team. “Without this (joint effort), we would just be a bunch of individuals,” Brad said, adding that by working together they can blaze new trails as far as food and fun.