RE: Outlook Potato Festival
Kudos are extended to the volunteers who are organizing the Potato Festival in Outlook. Anytime people gather to bring a community together for fun and economic gain is to be recommended. However due diligence should also be done in setting dates for events that they don’t directly compete with existing events in the same or nearby communities. The Potato Festival has pinned the first Saturday in August which conflicts with Glenside’s third annual Tractor Pulls. Kenaston also has claimed the first weekend in August for community events for a couple of years.
The first week of August might be an early start to small potato harvest, but generally local potatoes are harvested closer to the end of the month and into September, depending on the weather. To my way of thinking any use of potatoes for the Festival would have to come from imported markets and not our own local growers, who we are supposed to be spotlighting.  Usually potatoes are more expensive in July and August at the stores, so the cost and where the potatoes come from might be a detriment to people who want to get involved in cooking/baking products.
Having an event like this on a long weekend in August may also result in a shortage of volunteers as the August long weekend generally is a highly sought after family holiday with many people being away and some people are involved in other communities.
I truly believe that the Outlook Potato Festival is a great way to spotlight Outlook’s diversity in crops and to bring tourism dollars to the area. If the committee could relook at their dates, the availability of local produce and be respectful of other established local community events, I am sure that this Festival could be a great jumping off point for economic tourism in the area!
Sincerely,
Jan Eliason
Outlook, SK
