SOUPSTOCK Music and Arts Festival is the annual fundraising event for the Mary A. Schmecker Turtle Shell Fund. It features many fun-filled sights, sounds and tastes to entertain the whole family:

3rd ANNUAL SOUPSTOCK PRO/AMATEUR SOUP COOK-OFF
Participants from all over Southern Connecticut compete for the coveted SOUPSTOCK title!  Each cook will have a huge kettle of delicious soup ready for your inspection.  Members of the public can make a small donation to the Turtle Shell Fund and become a 'Schmecker' (That's literally German for 'taster').  Your donation gets you a pass to taste the soup all day!  Once you've tried them all, vote for your favorites and go back for seconds.  If you are interested in becoming a competitor, click on our SOUP page for more information.

SOUPSTOCK III - THE CONCERT
Featuring live music on two stages with acts known to both the local and national scene, there will be no shortage of musical genius at SOUPSTOCK.   With past performances by Kung Fu, The Alternate Routes, The Queen Killing Kings and Tim Palmieri's Beatles A to Z project, the Soupstockers have come to expect a great musical experience with their soup.  Check out this year's lineup of bands on our MUSIC page.

3rd ANNUAL SOUPSTOCK STUDENT ART COMPETITION
We have invited schools from around the Lower Naugatuck Valley area to submit student art for consideration in our annual SOUPSTOCK Student Art Competition.  See the winners in each age category displayed in our Art Expo tent.  Awards ceremonies will be held through the day to honor the students who have been selected as the best in their categories.  Click on our ART page for more details and an application form.

ARTS AND CRAFTS SHOPPING
We'll have a robust vending section right in the middle of the action.  There'll be no wandering off to the other side of the festival just to get a little craft shopping in at SOUPSTOCK.  From handmade jewelry to hula hoops we're sure you'll find a unique item to remember the day.  Visit our Vendors page for more info and links to our vendors.

SOMETHING FOR THE FOODIES
We have selected food vendors from our local area and beyond to provide you with eclectic tastes and comfort food from east and west.  Brick oven pizza, middle eastern cuisine, and good old American backyard style grillin' are just a hint of the flavors you'll find at our event!  We believe food is as much of an art as anything else at SOUPSTOCK, and we think you'll agree!

THE KIDS ZONE
We're putting together yet another dynamite experience for kids at SOUPSTOCK!  From the arts & crafts area to the bounce house to the new Kids Olympics (weather permitting), we've got a super fun day planned for all the youngins.

GET YOUR WALK ON
Our friends at the Lower Naugatuck Valley Boys and Girls Clubs are holding their fourth annual Herbie Rollinson "Get Your Walk On" walkathon on the perimeter of 'The Slab' during SOUPSTOCK.  If you would like to participate, please click here for info on joining their efforts.

As SOUPSTOCK is getting bigger each year, we naturally need a little more help than last time.  If you can lend a hand for the day please contact us at info@soupstockfestival.org

We are thrilled to announce that our good friend RYAN MONTBLEAU will be gracing us with his golden voice at SOUPSTOCK!   Ryan has been playing solo dates all around the country as of late, most notably opening for Colin Hay of Men At Work at Ridgefield Playhouse.  In fact, he's playing a gala event in Denver the night before SOUPSTOCK!  Ryan will be appearing solo on the Main stage right before TURBINE.

-- Which brings us to our second point --

LIKE VIOLET will now be appearing as the headliner on our Soup Stage!  For those of you who don't know them, LIKE VIOLET is the new band just formed by the Kalafus sisters, Caitlin and Carly,  formerly of the Kicking Daisies.  We're excited to feature one of the first public appearances of the band, and we just know that in the future you'll be saying  "Wow!  I saw them at Soupstock!"  Like them on Facebook and check out their new tracks!

SOUPSTOCK will feature live music on two stages:

Click our MUSIC page for more info and links

Check out the great video of Soupstock 2010 by volunteer Scott Rosenfield:

Festival MC Brian Smith also posted a feature on his website, doingitlocal.com:

SOUPSTOCK is the annual fundraising event for the Mary A. Schmecker Turtle Shell Fund, a charity fund started by Mary's grandchildren Joe Manganello and Michele Bialek and Michele's husband Fred Bialek in 2010.  Mrs. Schmecker was a ceramics teacher at the Shelton-Derby Community Center Boys and Girls' club for over 35 years -  from 1970 until shortly before her passing in 2008.  She and her husband Lou dedicated their spare time, money and patience (and hugs) to all of the kids at the club, even enduring a disastrous fire that destroyed her entire classroom along with the rest of the Howe Ave. club building in 1991.  Through three changes in location to the current club not far from the site of SOUPSTOCK,  Mrs. Schmecker strived to ensure that "her kids" had a consistent experience and never let them down.  She understood how important it was to enable kids to have creative outlets and a familiar and stable environment in which to learn their craft.  It came as no surprise when the Boys and Girls club's Alumni Association inducted Mary into their inaugural Hall of Fame class in 2007.

The Turtle Shell Fund wishes to continue Mrs. Schmecker's legacy by providing creative outlets and career paths to kids and young adults in music, the arts and artisan craft.  Through funding of lessons, classes, apprenticeships and scholarships, we wish to enable the young people in our area to express themselves creatively and find ways to turn that expression into a life path.

The Lower Naugatuck Valley Boys and Girls Clubs are once again helping us celebrate Mrs Schmecker's life and gifts as we present SOUPSTOCK 2012!