In recognition of the 50th anniversary of Houlton’s Potato Feast Days celebration, the town’s weekly newspaper is sponsoring several contests to help showcase the talents of local residents while honoring a longstanding northern Maine tradition — potato farming.
Lori Weston, executive director of the Greater Houlton Chamber of Commerce, approached the paper with an idea to draw additional attention during the anniversary year with two contests — one for writers and another for photographers.
“Potato harvest is such an important part of what it means to be from Aroostook County and all facets of this tradition evoke such strong feelings and memories. With this in mind, Potato Feast Days organizers hope to encourage residents to share their thoughts and memories with a wider audience,” Weston said.
For those who have a flair for the written word, The Pioneer Times is seeking original essays on the subject of potato harvest — past or present. Entries — handwritten, typed, or in electronic format — should be no longer than 500 words and must be received at our Court Street office no later than Friday, Aug. 28.
Please mark all submissions clearly as Potato Harvest Contest entries.
Winner of the essay contest will be announced in the Sept. 9 edition of the paper and their work will appear in the same issue along with other top contenders.
If a camera rather than a pen is your favorite way to express yourself, the newspaper is also sponsoring a photography contest to highlight the visual aspect of the Aroostook County potato harvest. Entries — both in print or electronic form — can be current views or images taken years ago. Harvest scenes can also be color or black and white. A brief description should accompany each entry and all prints will be available to be picked up after the contest. There will be two categories: adult and youth under age 18.
Drop off or e-mail (high resolution) photographs to the Pioneer Times office at 23 Court St. or at pioneertimes@nepublish.com with Photo Contest in the subject line. All entries, including photographer’s name, age, address and approximate date of creation, must be received no later than Friday, Sept. 25.
Winner of the photography contest will be announced in the Oct. 7 edition with a sample of what are judged to be the best entries showcased in the same issue of the newspaper.
Prizes will be awarded to the overall winners.
For more information, contact the newspaper at 532-2281 during regular business hours or the chamber of commerce at 532-4216.