Sep 6, 2023Potato Bowl to cap celebration of Red River Valley’s spud industry
The 57th annual Potato Bowl festivities will culminate in Saturday’s football clash between the University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks and the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks.
The week-long celebration of the Red River Valley’s potato industry, which began in 1966, will also feature the World’s Largest French Fry Feed at University Park on Thursday and the Potato Bowl Parade on Saturday morning.
The French Fry Feed begins at 4 p.m. with free french fries for attendees. The event features a french fry eating contest, potato sack races and live DJs.
The event also includes a golf tournament and a kids fun run before Saturday’s 10 a.m. parade. The football game kicks off at 3 p.m. at Alerus Center in Grand Forks.
On Sept. 24, 1966, the first Potato Bowl football game pitted North Dakota against Idaho State in a matchup billed as a battle between two of the country’s largest potato-growing regions.
North Dakota claimed a decisive 41-0 victory in that inaugural game and is 41-13 in Potato Bowl contests.
The Red River Valley is the largest producer of red potatoes for the fresh market in the U.S., producing more than 400 million pounds per year, according to redrivervalleypotatoes.com. The region also ranks fifth in yellow potato production, while North Dakota plants the second-most acres for seed potatoes in the nation, according to the website.
