HOULTON, Maine — The potato harvest may be several weeks away, but that did not stop the community of Houlton from celebrating all things spud over the weekend.
Hundreds of people filled Monument Park Friday evening and Saturday morning for the 63rd annual Potato Feast Days celebration — which was, ironically enough, held on National Potato Day.
Organizers, who were uncertain exactly how many people would show up, were overwhelmed by the number of participants. A total count was not available.
“Oh, my goodness, where do I start?” said Jane Torres, executive director for the Greater Houlton Chamber of Commerce. “After the uncertainty of the past two years, we expected a good turnout, but the numbers exceeded our expectations.”
Wendell Guy of Houlton was one of many individuals enjoying a lobster dinner in Monument Park Friday evening for Potato Feast Days. (Joseph Cyr | Houlton Pioneer Times)
Friday evening’s weather provided the perfect setting for the return of the popular lobster dinner, followed by a concert by Ted and the Boys with Miss Emily. Eager concert-goers were already picking out their seats an hour before the show was slated to begin.
“There were so many people there it was hard to find room for the candy drop, but even that was excellent,” Torres said. “The Doll Parade was actually the biggest one yet with some really fancy carriages and wagons. Once again the Fitzpatrick-Peabody family took the subject of potatoes and ran with it.”
The lobster dinner was another sell-out, with 275 lobsters from Mount Desert Island sold. In addition, 250 baked potatoes were also sold.
“We got a little behind on the lobster boil, because the first order was for 22 double meals purchased by Dead River as a thank you for their employees,” Torres explained. “So we started off on the wrong foot. Once those were sent out we got much faster with the orders and fulfilled them all by 6:15 p.m. We do hate making people wait but sometimes it just can’t be helped.”
Jane Torres places a freshly-cooked lobster on a plate Friday evening during Houlton’s Potato Feast Days celebration in Monument Park. (Joseph Cyr | Houlton Pioneer Times)
She added plans are already in the works for how to streamline the process next year, including additional pots for boiling the lobsters.
On Saturday, the chamber hosted a loaded baked potato sale in conjunction with the Community Market and quickly sold out.
“We cooked 100 potatoes and could have sold 200,” Torres said. “When we set up the booth at 9 a.m. People started coming right away and we ran out by 11:30. Apparently everyone loves a loaded baked potato.”
The Friends and Needles Quilt Guild also drew a large audience to the Houlton Higher Education Center for the return of its quilt show. More than 150 quilts were on display this year.
“Overall it was just great to see people socializing and enjoying themselves,” Torres said.
Kaden and Klaus Major of Houlton check out one of the many vehicles on Broadway during the “Touch-a-Truck” event for Potato Feast Days. (Joseph Cyr | Houlton Pioneer Times)
A large group of children, and their parents, filled Main Street Friday evening for the popular Doll and Wagoneer parade as part of Houlton Potato Feast Days. (Joseph Cyr | Houlton Pioneer Times)
