September 2, 2015 at 1:11 p.m.
The spud is king at Rhinelander's PotatoFest
The spud is king at Rhinelander's PotatoFest
By Kayla Thomason-
The event wil kick off on Friday night with a traditional Northwoods fish fry served by Rhinelander Cafe & Pub from 5 to 11 p.m.
Jagged Highway will play from 5 to 7:30 p.m., followed by The Whitehouse Players at 8 p.m.
The tater festivities really take off Saturday with potato-themed events, music, food and more.
The fun will begin at 8 a.m. with the Masonic Lodge's tasty potato pancake breakfast.
After that, guests will be able to burn off some calories by participating in various potato-related contests.
"The very first thing in the morning they have the baby crawling race and people just love that," said Maggie Steffen, executive director of Downtown Rhinelander Inc. which organizes the event. "They like the eating contests, they get cheering with the Duck Regatta, there isn't one that's overwhelming the others. There's a lot of people attending all of them."
The Littlest Spud Race (the crawling babies) will start at 8:45 a.m.
At 9:30 a.m. little children can dress up in costumes - if they wish - and participate in the adorable Tater Tot Parade.
At 11 a.m. the Rhinelander Community Band will play for the crowd. Children's activities and potato sack races will also start at that time.
Children will be able to roll up their sleeves and dive into a pile of sand in search of the Golden Potato. The hunt starts at 11:45 a.m.
Scott Kirby and Friends will perform at noon. Those who are playing in the cribbage tournament will be able to show their competitive side at this time.
Children can participate in the Feed the Hodag Spud Fling at noon and adults can have a go at the sack races at 1 p.m.
Organizers have added a bean bag toss tournament from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and Potato Pantyhose Bowling at 4.
The afternoon will bring a number of potato-related eating contests.
The mashed potato eating contest will start at 1 p.m. and those who prefer French fries can start wolfing them down at 1:45 p.m.
Some of the best cooks in the Rhinelander area will be competing in a potato salad contest. Winners will be announced at 2:30 p.m.
The Duck Regatta will begin at 3 p.m. People can watch as the yellow ducks dive off the Davenport Street Bridge.
Rubber duckies can be purchased for $5. Duck Regatta prizes will be awarded at 4:30 p.m. The first-place winner will receive $2,000.
At 6 p.m. adults can take their turn feeding the Hodag during the Adult Feed the Hodag Spud Fling.
The Dweebs will close the day's festivities with a live performance from 8 to 11 p.m.
To wrap up the weekend of fun, WXPR will host the Potato PolkaFest on Sunday. The Jim Pekol Band will perform from noon to 3 p.m. Food and refreshments will be available.
This spud-tacular event draws approximately 4,000 people to downtown Rhinelander.
It is made possible by Downtown Rhinelander Inc. and Tri-County Council - Lily's House.
According to a DRI press release "the mission of PotatoFest is to have a positive community event that will gain recognition and popularity. We seek to highlight the potato and bring awareness to the public how vital it is to our area. Wisconsin is ranked 3rd in the country for potato growing and Rhinelander develops many types and supplies a high percentage of the plants used yearly by the growers."
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