Potato Blossom Festival kicks off with enthusiastic community turnout

FORT FAIRFIELD, Maine — Cars lined the streets of Fort Fairfield on Saturday, as hundreds of people celebrated the return of one of Aroostook’s most beloved summer festivals.

The Maine Potato Blossom Festival kicked off with an array of activities, including the annual town wide yard sales, the Central Aroostook Chamber of Commerce’s Smokin’ BBQ Cookoff and the first ever corn hole tournament.

As early as 8:30 a.m., people browsed various yard sales in search of treasures. Pat Troicke and her family sold toys, games, clothes, books and other items outside her business, Pat’s Sewing Room, on Presque Isle Street. She said being part of the town yard sale is an annual tradition for her family.

 

“I like talking with all the people who come to town [during the festival],” Troicke said. “We’ve had a good start so far. There’s always a lot of early birds who come.”

Troicke, a member of the Frontier Heritage Society, also invited two fellow members, Joan Neptune and Robin Donovan, to sell Fort Fairfield-themed shirts and sweatshirts as a fundraiser for the society. 

Fort Fairfield residents Jessica Poig and Christine Buscarino were two of the “early birds” who stopped by the Frontier Heritage table. Both noted how excited they have been for the festival’s return.

“I’m looking forward to the live bands and parade,” Poig said. 

Since last year’s festival was cancelled due to COVID-19, Buscarino was glad to see the town filled with visitors again.

“It’s great to see other people here again. It makes things feel normal,” she said.

That renewed sense of normalcy was apparent throughout the morning as people shopped at various food, craft and community vendors. Despite Friday evening rain, the skies quickly cleared and gave festival goers more reason to celebrate.

Just before the corn hole tournament outside Hillcrest Estates, festival director Cheryl Boulier said she was thrilled to see such a huge crowd of people enjoying the activities. The tournament itself drew in over a dozen teams, all of whom were excited to start a new festival tradition.

“Everybody is having fun, smiling and laughing without masks. It feels like freedom,” Boulier said. 

During the late-morning hours, the aroma of barbecued foods drew many people to the site of the Smokin’ BBQ Cookoff, which opened to the public that afternoon.

Four teams from Aroostook County participated in the third annual cookoff, according to LaNiece Sirois, executive director of the Central Aroostook Chamber of Commerce. The event became part of the festival’s opening weekend in 2019 and was held as a standalone event in August 2020.

Sirois said chamber staff and volunteers were happy to have the cookoff part of the festival again.

“It brings more excitement to downtown Fort Fairfield and more people to shop at local businesses and eat at restaurants,” Sirois said. “At the end of the day, it’s all about supporting businesses.”

This year’s cookoff featured five categories: chicken, brisket, pork, ribs and the “Chef’s Choice,” a dish that incorporated Maine potatoes in honor of the festival. 

Adam Perkins of the Westfield-based Perkins Family BBQ busily grilled potatoes to place alongside salmon and teriyaki sauce as part of his “chef’s choice” dish. He and his brother Mike Perkins were participating in their second Chamber cookoff.

“The best part is being able to present good food to the public,” Adam Perkins said.

Dan Veazie of Ashland and Aaron Libby of Caribou were part of the three-person team D-N-A BBQ and spent the morning cooking their own versions of grilled favorites. The team marked their third year taking part in the cookoff and were glad to be at the festival among other teams and the public.

“We like the camaraderie between everybody,” Libby said.

The remaining Potato Blossom events will occur throughout the week, with the annual parade on Saturday, July 17, and concluding activities the following day.