History

This year’s Pea Soup Days festival (June 6th-9th) is going to be better and bigger than ever, thanks to the Somerset Chamber of Commerce partnering with the Somerset Lions Club and Somerset Fire/Rescue Department.  Pea Soup Days celebrates Somerset’s French-Canadian heritage. According to Somerset Community Member Jeanne Germain, pea soup was a staple food for the French-Canadians who settled in the area.  “The reason for this was that the ingredients were so simple and they were also easily transported/stored,” Germain said. “Smoked ham, dried peas and potatoes were all that was needed and they all last a long time.”  “La soupe au pois” (pea soup in French) will be made by area Boy Scouts this year.

Somerset has been celebrating its heritage with Pea Soup Days since the 1940s or ’50s.  Pea Soup Days’ main attractions include a 5K race, softball tournament, golf tournament, craft fair, food concessions, carnival and pedal tractor races. Other highlights will be Friday night fireworks and live bands in Village Park on Friday and Saturday nights.   Revelers can look forward to a medallion hunt. Clues for the hunt will be published on peasoupdays.com, Facebook and Twitter starting in May and each Wednesday at 9 a.m. until Pea Soup Days. People searching will also need to purchase a Pea Soup Days button for $2, which also enters you for a chance to win $100 both Friday and Saturday night after the band’s first set is complete. Contestants must be present to win.