The line for parking stretched far down Foxon Road as it neared North Branford’s Augur Farm. It was here that I, your loyal Eagle reporter, began my first foray into the world of the North Branford Potato and Corn Festival (fondly nicknamed the “POCO festival”), which promised to “elevate the two starchy staples to extraordinary heights.”
The festival, which ran from Friday Aug. 5, to Sunday, Aug. 7, is now celebrating its 15th year. It boasts not only hearty helpings of potatoes and corn, but also several non-edible attractions including carnival rides, festival games, crafts, music, prizes and more.
Though I didn’t have much time (or money) to spend at the festival, I wanted to be sure that I did my part to fulfill its mission statement. My accessories for the evening included a dress made out of a hand-labeled potato sack, a straw hat, a necklace of spuds, and a flock of plaid clad companions.
The gleeful debut was received dubiously by some festival goers and enthusiastically by others.
“Very festive, with the potato sack!” said one of the volunteers in the parking lot when my companions and I finally arrived. I was further reassured by the festival’s welcome sign, which was framed by an inviting pair of animated potatoes.
Inside the Festival
Though the POCO festival is ostensibly a celebration of potatoes and corn, the starchy staples shared the spotlight a host of other edible and non-edible attractions. In this sense, the festival’s non-sentient guests of honor took on a role similar to that which they play on the plate as the strong, starchy base to a more elaborate whole.
The petting zoo, for example, featured a wide range of furry organisms that were distinctly non-vegetable, and Solvit Home Energy Solutions seemed skeptical of the idea that one could light an entire house using only potato batteries.
In the outdoor corridor of vendors, popcorn and French fry stands stood shoulder to shoulder with tents peddling a sweeping variety of edibles, from Thai food to lobster rolls.
Still, the longest line of all was under the food tent, where people waited dutifully for the Potato Festival Committee’s Baked Potatoes With All The Toppings and Roasted Corn.
Hoping to maximize our time while still honoring the spirit of the festival, my friends and I shared a giant potato ball filled with beef and cheese, which was big enough to satisfy five people.
A Peek at the Upcoming Cow Chip Raffle
Friday night’s festivities, which began at 5 p.m., were but the appetizer to the festival’s main course, which got fully underway on Saturday and Sunday.
However, though I was too early to catch the tractor pull, fireworks show, and corn hole tournament that would later take place on the busy compound, I was able to catch a glimpse into the early stages of what was perhaps the most intriguing aspect of the festival, an ambiguously named event called “The Cow Chip Raffle.”
To a novice festival goer like me, the phrase “cow chip raffle” required some explanation. Luckily, festival volunteers Kerry Brewster and John Ler, who were selling tickets for the raffle, were happy to provide it.
According to them, participants could enter the raffle by placing a bet on a “plot” of land in a compound of the festival for $10 each. At 1 p.m. on Sunday, if the plot-owner was lucky, that piece of land would be the first to be host to a heaping pile of cow poop.
“The first one gets $2,000, the second gets $1,000, the third gets $500, and the fourth gets $250,” explained Brewster.
With an absentee wallet and a busy schedule on Sunday, I declined to put myself in the running for the contest, and set off to pursue a new lead: which do people prefer, potatoes or corn?
Before I left, I asked the volunteers what they thought. Ler preferred potatoes (“You can load them up,” he said), but Brewster preferred corn.
The rest of the impromptu survey, which polled a whopping total of 10 people, reflected a similar split of 5:5 with regard to the question of potato/corn preferences. However, if there’s one thing that this festival showed, it’s that some things are just better when they’re together. Perhaps potatoes and corn are one of those things.
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