Fort Fairfield will soon welcome thousands of people when it hosts the 78th Maine Potato Blossom Festival.
Events will run from Saturday, July 12, through Sunday, July 20, and will include the popular parade, which is as famous for the many politicians who march as it is for the local floats and farm equipment.
Fort Fairfield has hosted the gathering — one of Maine’s oldest festivals — since 1947. Designed to celebrate Aroostook County’s all-important potato industry, its timing coincides with the blossoming potato fields, which themselves are an attraction for many. The event draws crowds from around the state and beyond, bringing tourism dollars north.
Jane Towle is this year’s new festival organizer. A longtime event planner and a Fort Fairfield native, she loves the thrill of people packing into the town and the boost they bring to the entire region.
“I grew up in Fort Fairfield, so the festival through a child’s eyes was magical,” she said Thursday. “And it’s very important for Fort Fairfield. It’s not only a wonderful event celebrating our agricultural industry, which has been the cornerstone of this entire county for decades and decades, but it also is an economic driver for the area.”
The town of about 3,300 typically nearly triples its population during the festival, and on parade day more than 10,000 people have been known to line Main Street, she said.
This year Towle and her team have joined forces with local event promoters and Spud Speedway owners Troy Haney and Jim Gamage to give the festival a new boost. Fort Fairfield is glad to partner with other entities that will enhance the event, she said.
The speedway will host the Central Aroostook Chamber of Commerce’s seventh annual Smokin’ BBQ Cookoff on Saturday and Sunday, June 12 and 13.
The popular event is now sanctioned by the Northeast Barbecue Society, the chamber reported on social media. The designation means certified judging, competition standards and $5,000 in cash prizes. The people’s choice public tasting event takes place Saturday, when the crowd votes for their favorites, while the official competition happens Sunday.
The cookoff is really the festival’s kickoff, and coincides with a signature race at the speedway. Thanks to Haney and Gamage spreading the word, the race will acquaint many more people with the celebration, Towle said.
“We’re so pleased that they chose to partner with the festival, because really we try to attract [people] not only regionally but state and New England wide,” she said. “That race is very helpful and people will come from all over New England.”
Many other favorite events are on tap: live music, athletic events, the townwide yard sale, a bike rodeo and potato-themed activities for kids — including a mini “spud speedway” race where they create racecars out of potatoes. There will also be the usual pageants, the Fort Fairfield Athletic Hall of Fame banquet and fireworks.
Reynolds sisters Patty and Lynn will return to lead morning walks around the community.
The annual parade will form at 11 a.m. on Saturday, July 19, and start its Main Street run at 1:15 p.m. This year’s theme is “farming through the ages.”
Organizers are also introducing some new attractions. The festival will officially open at 7 p.m. on Saturday, July 12, with its first opening ceremonies and the inaugural Potato Ball at the VFW Hall.
Those handy in the kitchen can join a potato recipe cooking challenge, and a local artist will create art from wood with his chainsaw. There will also be line dancing, a “Spud-Tacular Basket Raffle” and outdoor movies under the stars.
A full schedule of events is available at the festival’s website.
For new Town Manager Aaron Huotari, it’s a chance to meet more townspeople as he settles into the community.
“Being visible and available to residents is important to me,” he said. “I have already met a number of residents at council, committee and board meetings, but the festival will be my opportunity to meet a lot of people.”
Huotari was hired in April and started his new position last month. Previously Bangor’s public works director, he has ties to Aroostook County: his wife is a native. He once attended a Potato Blossom Festival parade and was awed by the crowds, he said.
Before he even moved north, he talked with Towle and offered his help. The festival couldn’t happen without an incredible amount of work from volunteers and the financial support of more than 50 businesses and organizations, he said.
Huotari will speak at opening ceremonies at 7 p.m. on Saturday and will attend as many of the events as he can. It’s a part of his job that feels more like fun than work, he said.
The Blossom Festival has grown from a four-day event to a nine-day event over the years, Towle said. Organizers want to keep recreating the excitement and drawing more people to The County to experience it.
“We hope to keep creating something that’s going to create magical memories for the next generation,” she said. “You can’t go wrong if you’re headed north.”
