New event combines health care and potatoes
PRESQUE ISLE — A unique, new event combining potatoes and health care will be featured for the first time at the Maine Potato Blossom Festival in Fort Fairfield this year. Acadia Medical Supply and The Aroostook Medical Center are partnering to put on the Spuddy Recovery Triathlon Saturday, July 21 and are looking for community members to take part in the just-for-fun event.
Activity will take place at 1 p.m., just prior to the arrival of the first entries of the parade on Main Street, in the area between Acadia Medical Supply (the start line) and the parade reviewing stand in front of the Veteran’s monument (finish line).
The Spuddy Recovery Triathlon is more fun than sport. The entire contest will take place on a section of Main Street less than an eighth of a mile in length. It will involve some common medical equipment used to assist with mobility and incorporate The County’s most famous crop in a variety of ways.
Participants will navigate through a light obstacle course first pushing a wheelchair loaded with a bag of potatoes, then transition to pushing a medical rolling walker with a vase full of potato blossoms, before finally using a crutch like a golf putter to get a potato across the finish line. Perhaps the biggest challenge for participants will be not spilling the vase of flowers or dropping the bag of potatoes, both of which are required to be on board their respective craft at the end of each leg.
TAMC is working with Cavendish Farms — sponsors of the TAMC Centennial Potato Plot — to provide the potatoes and blossoms for the event. Acadia Medical Supply, which provides a full line of medical supplies to local health care organizations and to individuals, as well as clothing for workers in the health care industry, will supply the wheelchairs, walkers and crutches.
“We are so pleased to be partnering with Acadia Medical Supply and the Maine Potato Blossom Festival Committee to bring this new activity to Fort Fairfield during the festival,” said Jason Parent, TAMC director of advancement. “This event reflects both the significance of the potato industry and health care in The County. And it does so in a fun way during one of the region’s signature summer activities.”
Parent will be joined by Shawn Murchison of Acadia Medical Supply and Jane Towle of RE/MAX Central, in calling the play-by-play at the event. Murchison will be stationed at the start line, Towle in the middle of the course, and Parent at the finish line. Parent and Towle will also serve as announcers for the parade immediately following the Spuddy Recovery Triathlon.
“We are looking to have a great time with this event. People are excited about it and looking forward to watching the fun happen on Main Street while they await the arrival of the parade,” said Murchison. “We really want to encourage folks to sign up to compete and be part of the fun, as well.”
All participants will receive a logoed shirt from TAMC and a logoed hat from Acadia Medical Supply, with the overall winner receiving a prize package. Anyone interested in participating in this event before the parade is encouraged to go to potatoblossom.org or the TAMC Facebook page to fill out an application form.
The field is limited to only 16 participants. Four competitors will take part in the obstacle course at a time. The winner of each of the four rounds will compete in a championship round at the end.
For more information, contact event coordinator Joel Johndro at 768-4033.
The event is being introduced — in part — to commemorate the 100 years TAMC has been providing health care to citizens throughout Aroostook County. This year also marks the 65th annual Maine Potato Blossom Festival in Fort Fairfield.
TAMC also intends to announce the winner of a public contest it launched last month to design one face of a special commemorative five-pound potato bag to recognize its centennial around the time of the Spuddy Recovery Triathlon and the Potato Blossom Festival Parade. The design of the lucky winner will be unveiled on the parade reviewing stand.
