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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS |
| Q - 1. How many years has the Marion Popcorn Festival been "poppin'" into Marion each September? |
| A - 28 . . . the first year was 1981 |
| Q - 2. Who is this years Main Stage entertainment? |
| A - Phil Vassar, Molly Hatchet, Draw The LIne, Soul Cadence |
| Q - 3. What is the theme of this year's Festival? |
| A - The Big Pop Goes South of the Border |
| Q - 4. What is the name of the Marion Popcorn Festival mascot? |
| A - Mr. Pop P. Corn - "Pop P." for short |
| Q - 5. What's the name of Cracker Jack's mascot? What's the name of his dog? |
| A - Sailor Jack & Bingo |
| Q - 6. What companies in Marion produce popcorn products? |
| A -
ConAgra
Snack Foods - the largest single plant producer of microwave popcorn in the
world & one of the worlds largest supplier of raw popcorn Wyandot, Inc. - maker of corn-based snack foods |
| Q - 7. What brand name is ConAgra Snack Foods marketed under? |
| A - (Paul) Newman's Own Gourmet Popping Corn & Act II |
| Q - 8. Which Marion plant produces approximately a billion packages of microwave popcorn each year? |
| A - ConAgra Snack Foods (formerly Vogel Popcorn) |
| Q - 9. What are two of the brand names products that ConAgra produces? |
| A - Act II, Orville
Redenbacher, Healthy Choice
(They also produce other private labels, but these three are the ones they market themselves.) |
| Q - 10. What Marion company produces millions of pounds of caramel popcorn annually? |
| A - Wyandot, Inc. - in fact, as a maker of corn-based snack foods, Wyandot uses over 60 million pounds of popping corn, food-grad dent corn and corn meal yearly. |
| Q - 11. How many pounds of popcorn do Americans consume each year? |
| A - about one billion pounds |
| Q -
12. Of the one billion pounds of popcorn Americans
consume annually, approximately how much of that is eaten at home (vs. eaten at movies, ballparks, etc.)? |
| A - 70% is bought at retail stores in raw, popped and microwave form for use in the home |
| Q - 13. What makes popcorn pop? |
| A - Water - popcorn has a much harder outer shell than other types of corn, so it retains moisture inside as it matures. When the popcorn kernel is heated, the water turns to steam and expands causing it to pop. |
| Q - 14. What are the kernels called that don't pop? |
| A - Old Maids - Kernels that don't pop are generally caused because the outer shell is weak or damaged allowing evaporation of the water inside. |
| Q - 15. What are three of the five different types of corn? |
| A - Dent, Flint, Pod or flour. Sweet Popcorn |
| Q - 16. Where is the Wyandot Popcorn Museum located? |
| A - In Heritage Hall - the museum sits adjacent to the Festival grounds and is open daily during the Festival. |
| Q - 17. How many antique poppers does the Wyandot Popcorn Museum have on display? |
| A - Over 50 - Including the original 1892 Olsen Commercial Dry Popper, the Dunbar Concession Wagon used by Paul Newman to promote his popcorn in Central Park, a beautiful 1927 Model T Cretors Concession Truck, and 12 that were steam powered. |
| Q -
18. Although popcorn is today considered a snack
food, what "food group" was popcorn originally associated as a predecessor to? |
| A - Breakfast food - popcorn was the predecessor of today's modern cereals. It was served with milk or cream and sometimes sugar or fruit. |
| Q -
19. Although written records do not confirm this,
it is believed that the white man was first introduced to popcorn at what? |
| A - The first Thanksgiving. |
| Q - 20. What is the Marion Popcorn Festival's web site address? |
| A - www.popcornfestival.com |