The Town of Carman is trying out something new this year and launching its first-ever Poutine Week.

The event kicks off on May 10, and runs all week. Carman and District Chamber of Commerce executive director Jody Winkler says the event is a riff of its ever-popular burger week.

"We had five local restaurants that were involved in that, and it was a huge success. They were overwhelmed with the community support and the fun of all of it," says Winkler. "So, we wanted to do something in the spring, and we wanted to wait until our two wonderful drive-ins in town open up. So, we held off until this week, and we have eight restaurants confirmed for sure."

Although there are health restrictions in place around dining in restaurants, Winkler expects plenty of takeout orders. She notes last year's burger event was a huge draw for some local restaurants.

"During Burger Week, he (one local restaurateur) was only open for five of the seven days, and he did over 800 burgers. He's a pizza place that doesn't normally do burgers, so it was huge," says Winkler. "So, we're hoping Poutine Week offers the same revenue stream for the restaurants that have been struggling all year and offer a takeout option because poutine is easy to make to go."

The event is sponsored by Boyne River Irrigators, a consortium of five local potato growers. Winkler says lots of local businesses also get in on it by ordering staff lunches and weighing in on the voting. She adds they even brought in a photographer for some great photos of the menu options.

"She's gone to all the restaurants and had some amazing photos of all the poutines. So, those will be available on both streams of social media, then they'll be on the website," says Winkler. "So, we encourage people to try all of the poutines, then head to the website and vote for their favourites."

You can find the Carman and District Chamber of Commerce website here.