The ninth annual Portage Potato Festival kicked off at Island Park Saturday morning.

Kicking off the day was a pancake breakfast, followed other other activities as numerous booths were set up before the festival officially kicked off.

The most popular event for kids on Saturday was the inflatable rock climbing.

Pasture Rod Giesbrecht, from the Tabor Baptist Church in Winnipeg, said the inflatable structure has been to numerous fairs this summer.

“We have covered fairs from Saskatchewan to Northern Ontario,” he said. “We don’t advertise, so a lot of people don’t know about us. Luckily, organizers from the Potato Fest saw us on Kijiji.”

One reason for the popularity is the size of the structure and uniqueness.

“We call it ‘Mount Tabor,’” laughed Giesbrecht. “It’s about 30 feet high and you can climb on all four sides of it. It’s the only one of its kind between Minneapolis and Vancouver.

Steven Verwey brought his kids out to the festival this year. He said the great activities for kids and free admission makes it a family friendly atmosphere.

“There are a lot of good things here for the kids,” he said. “My kids like seeing the petting zoo – and the French fries don’t hurt either. We like to get out here every year.”

See more in the Monday, Aug 13 edition of the Portage Daily Graphic.

Poll

What did you think of this year's Potato Festival?

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

0% 0 votes	It was really fun!
0% 0 votes	Meh, it was okay.
0% 0 votes	Boring