Funnel cake fries are a unique treat at Sports Force Parks

Published 1:28 pm Friday, July 17, 2020

When it comes to the five senses, sight and sound are certainly recognizable at a baseball park.

There is the ping of bats making contact with balls, team chants reverberating across the field, and the uproar of a cheering crowd when a player makes it across home plate.

Wire fencing and nets to protect the spectators from fly balls is seen as well as folding chairs, tents and wagons to hold all the gear.

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And, while the heat on any given day can be felt at the park, the two senses that can make the day fun and memorable are taste and smell.

No one knows this better than Corey Jones, who is the hospitality manager at Sports Force Parks on the Mississippi.

While the local ballpark offers the typical fare — pizza, hamburgers, hot dogs and nachos, along with chicken wings and pulled pork, it is the aroma of the funnel cake fries that sends fans to the concession stand.

“Once we start cooking the fries the aroma from them spreads throughout the park,” Jones said, making the sweet treats a Sports Force favorite.

Currently offered on tournament weekends only, Jones said, once the Vicksburg Warren Athletic Association begins its season the beignet-like pastry that is described as crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside will become a staple on the menu.

More like a confection and not a deep-fried potato, these mouth-watering delectables are covered in powdered sugar.

During a tournament season, Jones said, he goes through 20 pounds of the pulverized sugar.

Sticky fingers never tasted so good.

The number of funnel cake fry orders is another dead giveaway as to their popularity.

Jones said on tournament weekends when players, parents, and a plethora of sports enthusiasts come out for games, 125 to 150 orders of the sweet-tasting fries are placed.

Sports Force Parks on the Mississippi, located at 255 Fisher Ferry Road, is a haven of young and young at heart, and to make sure the visitors remember their trips to the local park, Jones said, they wanted to offer visitors something unique.

“The idea for the funnel cake fries came from wanting to offer something unique that you can’t get at any other park,” he said. “We are the only Sports Force Parks that sells funnel cake fries and honestly I don’t know of any other park in the state of Mississippi that sells them.”

About Terri Cowart Frazier

Terri Frazier was born in Cleveland. Shortly afterward, the family moved to Vicksburg. She is a part-time reporter at The Vicksburg Post and is the editor of the Vicksburg Living Magazine, which has been awarded First Place by the Mississippi Press Association. She has also been the recipient of a First Place award in the MPA’s Better Newspaper Contest’s editorial division for the “Best Feature Story.”

Terri graduated from Warren Central High School and Mississippi State University where she received a bachelor’s degree in communications with an emphasis in public relations.

Prior to coming to work at The Post a little more than 10 years ago, she did some freelancing at the Jackson Free Press. But for most of her life, she enjoyed being a full-time stay at home mom.

Terri is a member of the Crawford Street United Methodist Church. She is a lifetime member of the Vicksburg Junior Auxiliary and is a past member of the Sampler Antique Club and Town and Country Garden Club. She is married to Dr. Walter Frazier.

“From staying informed with local governmental issues to hearing the stories of its people, a hometown newspaper is vital to a community. I have felt privileged to be part of a dedicated team at The Post throughout my tenure and hope that with theirs and with local support, I will be able to continue to grow and hone in on my skills as I help share the stories in Vicksburg. When asked what I like most about my job, my answer is always ‘the people.’

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