Despite a consistent downpour and puddles along the street, the What the Fluff? Festival commenced its 18th annual event Sept. 26. Lasting from the afternoon to evening, attendees enjoyed an array of confectioneries and activities on the streets of Union Square in Somerville.
When people hear the word “fluff,” they think of furry animals or pets. However, the Fluff Festival celebrates the creation of Marshmallow Fluff, a creamy confectionery spread made from marshmallow ingredients that is meant to taste like the inside of a gooey marshmallow. Its most common use is for Fluffernutter sandwiches, a New England specialty that requires Fluff, peanut butter and two slices of bread.
Marshmallow Fluff was invented by Archibald Query in Somerville during World War I using a patented formula. It rose to popularity in the 1960s and became a key ingredient in dessert recipes.
Every year citizens of Somerville gather, organize, enjoy and participate in the Fluff Festival. Shows, speakers, markets and even parkour demonstrations are arranged for the special day.
“What we do here is we celebrate the innovation back then — the innovation was creating a way to have a liquid flop, liquid marshmallow,” said Mike Katz, Somerville resident, Archibald Query impersonator and emcee for the event. “Today we have robotics all around Union Square, we have all kinds of high tech.”
Tents ranging from Fluff merchandise to marshmallow Fluff-themed desserts spread across Somerville Avenue and Bow Market, such as Gracie’s Ice Cream marshmallow-coated cones and Fluff-topped oysters at Bluefin. But the most popular Fluff events occur on the affectionately named Shenanigans Stage. Here, festival-goers can compete in events such as Fluff Jousting or Fluff Musical Chairs.
“I grew up in New England and I grew up eating Fluffernutter sandwiches; it was my favorite food group growing up, so it’s fun to have an entire festival for all families and different people of all ages,” said Sheyna Viswanathan, a data engineer in Somerville and 2019 Northeastern alum.
Vendors can range in discipline. For example, the Highlanders 6201 Robotics Team, a stem-driven group that collaborates on robotic designs to fight or solve challenges in competitions, created a pneumatic-operated s’more maker and a ring-toss game involving m-bots, which are small LEGO-compatible robots.
“We’re mostly here for outreach. So it’s great for being able to talk to kids who are here who might want to join the robotics team when they’re older,” said Mayhew Ferry, a senior at Somerville High School and member of the Highlanders.
Ferry, along with many other vendors and citizens, were happy to get involved with the festival and make it just as successful as years before.
“Obviously [Fluff] forces us to stick together. It’s very sweet,” said Katz.
