County AG Report: Maine Potato Blossom Festival

PRESQUE ISLE, Maine (WAGM) - The Maine Potato Blossom Festival kicks off Saturday, marking the 75th anniversary for the event. As the community prepares for the thousands who come to Fort Fairfield for the celebration, Rob Koenig found out what the festival is doing to promote agriculture in this week’s County Ag Report.

The Maine Potato Blossom Festival draws people from around the state to Aroostook county for a week of festivities. Director Cheryl Boulier says while the festival wasn’t always held in Fort Fairfield, she’s glad it was able to plant roots in the town.

“It began in a simple conversation at a potato house with a lady that decided that it would be nice to celebrate the harvest. So from there we now have a nine-day festival that is centered and focused on promoting agriculture.”

With the potato industry making up a good portion of the farming community here in the county, festival organizers hope that the weeklong event can also be used as an educational opportunity, adding a new exhibit for that purpose.

“New this year, we have a farm exhibit, an interactive farm exhibit, that is being made possible by grant funding from the Maine Ag in the Classroom program. This is to teach children K through 12 where the food comes from, and the important role our farmers play in our everyday lives. So they will be able to do simple farm tasks, which we hope will plant a seed in their mind, at this young age how important it is to support our farmers, and when they enjoy the food on their table they know where it comes from.”

The week long event has different activities planned for each day. While some of these events aren’t directly related to agriculture, Boulier stresses it is still important to each event.

“Our parade is always a big draw. We usually have thousands of people. This year we’re giving trophies out for our ‘best theme for the 75th anniversary’. We’re giving out a trophy for ‘all about agriculture’ and we’re giving out a trophy for also ‘best theme’ which will be agriculture. So we’re trying to bring agriculture into every aspect we can of our festival because that is our main focus .”

Additional Information can be found at the Town of Fort Fairfield’s Website Here.

The Schedule of Events can be found here.