Ebensburg Potato Festival
Each year a Potato Festival (or “Potatofest”) is held in downtown Ebensburg, PA to celebrate one of the staples of the region’s agricultural industry—the potato. This humble crop takes center stage during a day-long festival that features live music and dance performances, bingo, arts and crafts booths and a wide-variety of foods where vendors will be serving up lots of festival-style eats, with an emphasis on potato-themed fare.
This year’s festival will be held on Saturday, September 26, 2009. From 9:00AM to 5:00PM downtown Ebensburg, PA will be filled with the sights, sounds and smells of one of Cambria County’s favorite annual festivals. Entertainment will be stationed at five downtown locations. For a full lineup of events, visit the “Entertainment” area of the Potatofest Web site.
“What makes this a great festival is its uniqueness—the food selection features items you wouldn’t typically find vendors serving,” says Christine Strugala, Community Development Director for Ebensburg Borough. “You’ll find sweet potato fries, pierogi lasagna and so much more.” Of course, there’s a lot more to it than the food. The event now features over 200 vendors of all types. “The craft show portion has really grown,” says Christine. “Potatofest attracts high-caliber crafters from all over Pennsylvania, Maryland and Ohio.”
The event’s popularity can cause some parking problems, so its recommended that you use one of the free shuttle services. Shuttles will be continuously running from Admiral Peary Vo-Tech (click here for a map), Penn Highlands Community College (Ebensburg Education Center) (click here for a map), Ebensburg Mini Mall (click here for a map) and Lake Rowena (click here for a map).
Now in its 18th year, the Ebensburg Potato Festival continues to grow, drawing other area organizations to schedule activities in conjunction with the event. This year Dauntless Fire Company will hold a “Wine Extravaganza” from 9:00AM to 5:00PM at their 209 W. Sample Street station (click here for a map); a quilt exhibit will be on display at the First United Church of Christ Educational Building (click here for a map); and Bishop Carroll High School will be holding a fundraiser in anticipation of their 50th anniversary celebration (click here for a map).
The Ebensburg Potato Festival is a wonderful place to spend time, especially for those with young children. The kid-friendly atmosphere includes a children’s museum, face painting, potato sack races and much more. A highlight of the event is the “Miss Tater and Mr. Tot” contest, open to children between the ages of one and seven. Registration is open until Noon the day of Potatofest and more details are available on the official 2009 Miss Tater and Mr. Tot Contest registration form (click here to download as a .PDF).
Christine recommends planning to make a day of it. “Plan on coming and spending more than an hour,” she says. “This is truly a day-long event.”
To learn more about the Ebensburg Potato Festival, visit the official Potatofest Web site.
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This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009 at 4:46 pm and is filed under Sports & Leisure. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
