The Hotdish Hoedown is an annual potluck that started in January 1991 as a housewarming party with two to three dozen guests in Madison, Wisconsin. As a Minnesotan who does not enjoy cooking, the hostess held what she thought would be a onetime potluck featuring casseroles and a festive Jell-O topped with orange slices. The midwinter Hotdish Hoedown turned out to be so much fun, the hostess held a second about a year later and added the Most Spectacular Jell-O Contest.
By 1993, the guest list — comprising coworkers, fellow Atwood Community Center board members, teammates, neighbors and other friends — was too large for the 950-square-foot house, so the hostess moved the party to the community center. More than 30 years later, the Hoedown still revolves around good food and good company, although 2021’s pandemic-resistance version involves virtual food.
Through the Hoedown, the hostess brings together as many of the people she cares about as possible. Addressing the invitation envelopes helps her to reflect on how she knows each person and how she collaborated with many of them — even if just to have fun. Occasionally relatives make the pilgrimage from Minnesota to attend. Nearly every year the hostess adds a few guests who value a sense of community — and a sense of humor.
The Jell-O Contest is a staple of the Hoedown, with children and now-young adults who have grown up sculpting Jell-O as part of their annual routine. All contestants win festive trophies cobbled together from sports awards, gelatin molds and crafting supplies. The 2019 retrospective exhibition “Hello Jell-O My Old Friend” displayed Hoedown guests’ creativity with gelatin and props. Contest categories shift from year to year, but, across the decades, entries have told tales, made puns, celebrated winter, showcased the use of color, worked out feelings about politics and the environment and nurtured hope.
Singing became part of the party after Peter Leidy entered the 1997 Jell-O Contest under the Best Performance Art Category. With Jell-O boxes taped to his shirt, he sang an a cappella medley of Jell-O tunes. In subsequent years, the hostess crafted full-length tunes based on this early work and added a few new numbers. Hoedown guest Kristi Shepard contributed “Celebrate” and “It’s Hoedown Time.”
By the turn of the century, more than 100 people attended regularly, about a third of them children, who had their own room with supervised activities. Childless adults were often stunned to learn as many as 30 children were tucked away in the community center’s basement. Even then, the party was a tight fit until the community center moved into its Ironworks building in 2009. Now grandchildren of early guests attend.
Over the years, Hoedown swag has included a bumper sticker, coaster and the 20th anniversary beer Hotdish Hoedown Brew. In anticipation of the 30th Hoedown in 2020, the hostess produced a documentary about the party and its guests. Directed by Mitch Deitz, “Hotdish Hoedown: The Endless Table” was shown privately at the 2020 Hoedown; it is under consideration at a couple of film festivals as of January 2021. For 2021, Hotdish Hoedown masks are available.
With the 2020-21 coronavirus-19 pandemic, the Hotdish Hoedown is extending its global reach as a Saturday night Zoom-down; former guests in Florence, Italy; Los Angeles, California; and Portland, Oregon, plan to attend and compete in the Jell-O contest. Those in Dane County can also gather outdoors Sunday in the hostess’ yard, where Jell-Os will be displayed and trophies awarded.
Through the changes and additions, the Hoedown remains one of Madison’s premiere food events, with tator tot hotdish, cheesy bread, salad after salad, brownies, pies, roast turkey, pizza, cheesy potatoes, green bean casserole, tuna noodle hotdish, ham and green pea casserole, lasagna, more salads, chili, guacamole, enchiladas, soups. The bounty is endless, and all are grateful for the Hoedown’s good company, good warm food, sense of community, friendship, family, laughter, music, humor and ritual of looking forward to the next gathering.