Now The Food Network, located in North Hollywood, is planning to feature the egg festival in a segment of the cable television show "The Secret Life Of ..." which zeros in on individual foods or recipes.

Egg Festival President Sherry Davis of Plymouth said she was shocked when she received a call last week from the producers at The Food Network.

"I watch that show all the time," she said. "I love it."

Twan Nguyen is the director of the segment. "So do you really dress up like chickens and parade around?" he asked Wednesday.

Nguyen said the show tries to portray food and the history of food and often includes the ways foods are celebrated. He did not know when the segment will air, only that it will be sometime next year.

Davis said the segment will begin shooting in just three weeks, and meanwhile, Nguyen is seeking any vintage photographs or video that shows the festival events.

Bangor's ABC Channel 7 and Maine Central Institute's film program are working with Davis to transfer any old films, such as 8 mm, to Beta video or compact disc.

Anyone with donations can contact Davis at 257-3877 or 257-4209.

Prentice "Toby" Strong, a former Pittsfield businessman, first came up with the idea of the egg festival while working with downtown merchants on a promotional idea, which eventually became the now world-famous Central Maine Egg Festival, capitalizing on the area's reputation as a center of egg production.

the time, 50 eggs a minute were being laid at egg farms in mid-Maine. Today there is only one small egg producer left in Pittsfield, but the festival will celebrate its 33rd year next July.
"This content originally appeared as a copyrighted article in the Friday, October 08, 2004 edition of the Bangor Daily NEWS and is used here with permission."