With summer in full swing, there are lots of happenings in the surrounding area of Woodstock. The Hartford Potato Fest—now halfway finished—is a summer-long competition, which kicked off in the beginning of May, is one of those many happenings. The event is designed to see which of Hartford’s five villages can rally the most people to grow potatoes. It finishes with a potato-themed festival on Sept. 14 in Lyman Point Park. Organizers handed out free bags of seed potatoes at a kickoff event in early May and competitors got started growing right away.

Along with each bag of potatoes, participants received a handmade grower’s guide, containing sketches and advice for planting, growing, and harvesting potatoes.

About 150 pounds of the 750 pounds of seed potatoes donated by West Lebanon Feed and Supply were given away by the end of the kickoff event.

The culminating celebration will include a potato potluck, songs, games, skits and a prize for the village that gets the most people to grow potatoes.

The event was founded by Paige Heverly, chairwoman of the The Community Resilience Organization of Hartford, also known as Resilient Hartford, which is one of six such organizations piloted in towns around Vermont in response to climate change and other threats, as well as Kyle Cochran. Their thought was that a lighthearted event would garner the general public’s interest more easily than straightforward attempts to discuss environmental hazards.

Information Provided by https://www.vnews.com/Residents-of-Hartford-s-five-villages-begin-summer-long-potato-growing-competition-25451840