A big turnout of residents and visitors with beautiful cooperation from the weather for the entire weekend of festivities made Houlton’s Potato Feast Days a verifiable success. The Quilt Show began Friday and enjoyed a steady crowd of admirers throughout the day.
The Parade of Dolls had a larger than ever group of participants. Party dresses, decorated strollers and wagons made for a wonderful parade. Guest visitor, Mr. Potato Head walked the parade route along with the boys and girls. A reception held at the Chamber Office following the parade with cookies, drinks, gift bags and a teddy bear giveaway sponsored by Chadwick’s Florist all helped to create a party atmosphere.
The first Annual 50 Cent Coin Scramble was held on the Chamber grounds. Boys and girls and even parents joined in the fun of finding the coins covered by wood shavings. Many a happy youngster and “oldster” walked away with money in hand.
Saturday was filled with activities throughout the day. The Arts and Crafts Show had a diverse choice of fine jewelry, exquisite pottery, quilts, art, wood products and specialty items that were all created by many talented crafters and artists both local and from around the state.
The Chamber-sponsored kids’ games were a huge hit. Cash prizes were awarded for the Sack Races and Potato Picking Contests. The following is a list of winners and categories:
The Mr. Potato Head Contest:
1st Place: Rachel Robinson
2nd Place: Josh Suton
Potato Salad Contest:
1st Place: Debra LaRosa
2nd Place: Yvonne Blake
3rd Place: Eileen Bustard
Ladies Potato Peeling Contest:
1st Place: Loretta Goin
2nd Place: Darlene McMillen
3rd Place: Mandy Emery
Guess the Potatoes in the Barrel Contest:
There were 632 potatoes in the barrel. The winner with the closest guess:
Loretta Goin, guessing 628
The first annual Potato Row was held on Saturday. Local folks who love cooking and who had favorite potato recipes brought them to be judged by our distinguished judges: Cathy Bither, David Little and Nancy Rideout. The results were as follows:
Potato Bread – Mary Harbison for Potato Pizza
Potato Salad – Mary Harbison for Funny Face Potato Salad
Potato Casserole – Mary Harbison for Spinach Pie with Potato Crust
Potato Soup – Mary Harbison for Minestrone with Pesto
Candy/Dessert – Eileen Bustard for Maine Potato Candy
Along with cash prizes, the winning recipes will be featured in the 2010 Annual Potato Feast Recipe Book that will be published by the Chamber of Commerce.
The 2009 Chamber Road Rally was held on Sunday. With participants from as far away as Caribou. It was a 60-mile experience filled with twists, turns and questions.
Participants were judged by their mileage, time and the number of correct questions they answered throughout the route. The judging was determined in the following manner: Mileage – 2 points/mile over/under actual; Time – 5 points/minutes over/under; Questions – 5 points for each correct answer.
The winners of this year’s rally were:
1st Place: Mary Jane Cleary with a total score of 233
2nd Place: Lisa Wilson with a total score of 225
3rd Place: Sandy Lynds with a total score of 223.
