The wait is finally over.
Elizabeth City’s three-day North Carolina Potato Festival kicks off along the city waterfront Friday at 5 p.m.
The annual event features amusement rides, competitions like the National Potato Peeling Contest and the Little Miss Tater Tot Contest, continuous live entertainment, an auto and bike show, an antique tractor display, arts and crafts vendors and of course — everybody’s favorite — food vendors.
The festival kicks off at 5 p.m. and will continue until 11 p.m. The fun continues Saturday from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. and then concludes on Sunday when festival hours will be 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. A kickoff party for the festival will be held in Mariners’ Wharf Park at 5:30 p.m. Friday.
The festival again will feature three days of amusement rides like the Windsurfer, a new attraction this year. The fee schedule for the rides is as follows: $10 for 100 credits, $20 for 200 credits and $50 for 550 credits. Each ride costs 30-64 credits. The credits are put on a fun pass card that requires a $2 activation fee.
Unlimited ride wristbands are available for $25 today, $30 on Sunday and $25 on Sunday. The wristbands also require a $2 activation fee.
Ride credits and unlimited ride wrist bands can be purchased at ride kiosks at Waterfront Park. Both cash and credit will be accepted. There also will be an ATM machine at the park for those needing cash.
Free, hot French fries provided by Black Gold Farms and cooked by the Elizabeth City Shrine Club will be given away, while supplies last, on Saturday at the intersection of Fearing and Water streets. The festival also will feature more than 100 vendors selling arts, crafts and food.
Two of the festival’s signature events — the National Potato Peeling Contest and the Little Miss Tater Tot contest — will both be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday. The potato-peeling contest will be held at the intersection of Water and Main streets. The Little Miss Tater Tot contest will be held in Mariners’ Wharf Park.
The festival also will feature cornhole tournaments at Mariners’ Wharf Park on both Saturday and Sunday. Practices will be held at noon with the tournaments beginning at 1 p.m. Teams can pre-register for the tournaments through the Scoreholio app or register at the park.
The festival features three days of live entertainment, starting with a performance Friday by the Pasquotank County High School jazz band on the festival’s main stage at Mariners’ Wharf Park at 6 p.m.
The Jukebox Band will follow with a performance at 7 p.m. Adam Nixon performs at 8 p.m. The Daniel Jordan Band will end the night’s live entertainment with a performance starting at 8:30 p.m.
The music continues on Saturday with a performance by the band Partly Crowdy at noon, followed by Gerald Trotman at 1:30 p.m., Little Dickie and the Misfits at 2 p.m., the Bonfire Brothers at 3:30 p.m., The Outcry at 4 p.m., and Heather Helton at 5:30 p.m.
Two bands will be performing for Saturday night’s street dance: Thirsty Curses at 6 p.m. and The Groove Motive at 8 p.m.
On Sunday morning, Fountain of Life will hold a Church on the Green service at 10 a.m.
That will be followed at noon with a performance by the band Delta Son, kicking off an Afternoon Party in the Park. Doc Perkins performs at 1 p.m. He’ll be followed at 1:30 p.m. by the Jon Tyler Wiley and his Virginia Choir band at 1:30 p.m.
Local musician Bobby Plough will perform at 2:45 p.m. and SJ McDonald will conclude the final day’s live entertainment with a performance at 3:30 p.m.
The Potato Festival also will again feature a beer garden at Mariners’ Wharf Park. Beer will be provided by City Beverage Company, Seven Sounds Brewing Company, Ghost Harbor Brewing Company, and Avdet Brewing Company. Hours will be 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. Friday, noon to 11 p.m. on Saturday and noon to 6 p.m. on Sunday.
A 5K Run/1 Mile Walk will also be held Saturday. The starting and finish line is on Riverside Avenue near Charles Creek Park. The Coast Guard will also provide several demonstrations of search and rescue missions on the Pasquotank River.
The festival will also feature a car and bike show on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on a blocked-off Main Street between Poindexter Street and Martin Luther King Drive. There also will be a display of new and antique tractors on Ehringhaus Street between McMorrine and Water streets on Saturday.
Nine portable restroom facilities will be set up throughout the festival area, including on Poindexter Street, at Mariners Wharf Park, at Fearing and Water streets, along the ride midway at Water and Enringhaus streets, on the Museum of the Albemarle green and at Waterfront Park.
An emergency medical station will be set up on Water Street for those who need medical assistance. There also will be a command center on the museum green where police, fire and emergency medical personnel will be stationed. Handicapped parking will again be available in the Elizabeth City-Pasquotank Senior Center parking lot.
Rain and showers are forecast for Saturday and Sunday but the festival is scheduled to be go on as scheduled.
Local News
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