Dakotafire Get your spark here.
From the Clark County Courier
Clark’s signature celebration is right around the corner: Potato Day is Saturday, August 4. Volunteers of Clark have again planned a day filled with fun events for all ages and generations.
Special afternoon entertainment this year will be entertainer Lonesome Ron on the Chamber Stage at 1 and 3 p.m. Noted as King of the Valley Yodelers, his songs deal with subjects such as cowboy life, Old West outlaws, Norwegian immigration and other historical topics. He’s known to have written dozens of songs that work to keep the spirit of the West alive. He intrigues the audience with his historical knowledge of cowboys driving cattle as well as stories about the Hollywood cowboys including historical facts and humor.
At 3:30 p.m., Rev. Kevin Petersen and several youth and HighPoint leaders will be performing “High-Point” kids songs and entertainment. At 2 p.m., members of the 4-H Performing Arts Troupe will sing and perform, doing a “Salute to American Bandstand.”
At 7 p.m. Friday, the night before Potato Day, a Hee Haw Variety Show will entertain at the Clark Golf Club. Singers, stand-up comedians and local entertainers will all have their turn at the variety show.
Saturday begins early with a pancake feed and the mile walk, 5K, 10K and bike race. The coin dig for the youngsters is at 8:30 a.m. and the hunt for the evasive hidden Potato Day Medallion begins at 9 a.m. with the first clue dropped at Double ‘S’ Presso. Bargains with ‘A-Peel’ start at 9 a.m. at the many unique downtown Clark businesses. Those wanting to enter their entries in the best decorated potato contest or the Flower and Garden Show at the Clark Flower and Gift Shop better do it before 10 a.m. as that is the deadline for the judging. Entries will be on display all afternoon.
Other contests that day are a coloring contest, a quilt contest, guess the potato weight contest and guessing who Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head are this year. Watch for those clues in the Clark County Courier issues preceding Potato Day.
For those good in the kitchen, a potato and chip dip recipe contest will be judged at 11 a.m. A ping pong ball toss for the kids off of the Dacotah Bank building will be at approximately 10 a.m. Little Miss and Master Tater Tot will be judged at 10:45 a.m. on the Chamber Stage in Dickinson Park.
Arts in the Park will be ongoing from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The ever-famous mashed potato wrestling starts at 11:15 a.m., preceded by a kick boxing demonstration at 11. At noon, the cars roll in for the Clark Car Club Show to go until 4 p.m. when the trophies will be awarded. Also, for those interested, Mud Drag Races will be held out at the fairgrounds at 1 p.m.
For the younger set, the kid’s pedal tractor pull will be held at 1 p.m. on Kansas Street by Dickinson Park. A horseshoe tournament will start at 1 p.m. and a bean bag tournament starts at 2 p.m. Bingo and cowpie bingo will be held also in the afternoon.
The tractors roll in about 2:30 p.m., which is always fun to watch as well as hear the older engines come down the road. They all usually park across the highway south of Dickinson Park with green and red being the dominant colors.
The Potato Day parade is at 5 p.m. this year with the line-up starting at 4:30 p.m. in front of the Catholic Church going back toward the north. That evening the band Power Play will be playing outdoors in the alley between the Time Out and the Sportsman’s.
For more details, times and places, check out the Potato Day insert that will come out in the Aug. 1 issue of the Clark County Courier. Many other events such as mashed potato eating, peeling and sculpting events around 12:30 p.m., carnival games and the inflatables for the kids offer a lot of variety for the youngsters. The variety of food available that day will excite the older set. Something for all ages is what Potato Day is all about.
