The 4th Annual Escalante Wild Potato Days will be held Memorial Day weekend, May 24 and 25, 2024.
Festivities will start Friday at 6:00 p.m. on May 24 at the Escalante Showhouse with a potato bar dinner followed by the program at 7:00. Bruce Pavlik will do a presentation on how to plant wild potatoes. After that, Shanandoah Anderson of the Shivwits Band of Paiutes will talk about the traditions of the people who have lived here for centuries.
On Saturday, May 25, vendors are free to set up in the Escalante City Park at 9:00 a.m. A Memorial Day Flag raising will be held at the Veterans Memorial at 11:30, led by Dan Gardner, the local history teacher and a former Marine.
Get ready for some friendly competition at the Potato Cook-Off! Bring your entries to the pavilion by noon Saturday and join in the fun of tasting and voting. Prizes will be awarded to the winners after 1:00 p.m., adding a thrilling element to the event.
In the afternoon, kids’ crafts and games will start at 1:00 p.m. at the pavilion. Paiute drummers and dancers will also perform in the afternoon.
Thank you for supporting this local heritage event! Please contact Harriet Priska if you have any questions.
– by Harriet Priska
Feature image caption: The potato Solanum Jamesii. Courtesy of Bruce Pavlik.