Potato Days ranked #1 Minnesota Festival
by Minnesota Explorer Magazine

The 2006 Potato Days Festival was a “spud”rific time for Steve Barone (A.K.A. Steve-O Gratin) who has his favorite festivals featured on Explore Minnesota’s new website called My Favorite Minnesota. He ranks the festival as number one for Festival Junkies!

Explore Minnesota! is the official travel site of Minnesota. When trying to decide what to do and where to go, it is the paper to read. The publication is distributed throughout Minnesota. This year the website is up and full of travel information as well.

August 2006, Steve Barone got quite involved and had a film crew and couple photographers follow him around at both the Potato Wrestling contest and the Demolition Derby. He wrestled Steve Burr in the Mashed Potato Wrestling contest. Now both have the festival featured online.

Steve Burr is a comedian and they were filming for a website program but the program never got up and running. Steve had such a good time that he put his experience on his website. It can be found at Steve Burr Comedy.

Steve Barone wrote the Potato Days office that he is returning for the August 24 and 25, 2007 Festival to defend his title in the Mashed Potato contest. He hopes to bring more cameras as well! Check out his website at Explore MN, My Favorites and for sure watch the first and third video.

A producer from CNN saw Steve Barone’s video on “you tube” and Steve Barone did an interview for CNN Headline News. He filmed himself doing a hands-free-cell phone interview in a press conference type setting and sent the videotape to CNN. They then spliced it together to look like the interview with the host is “via satellite” and in real time.

This video interview runs on a new show called “News To Me”. The program airs on CNN Headline News each Saturday and Sunday at 11:30a.m. and 2:30p.m. Central Time.

TV ads for Explore MN.com have been airing on Fargo/Moorhead stations this month. Many times the ad includes the Mashed Potato Wrestling segment.

The Potato Days office has had many contacts to get permission to feature the festival on their website, in their recipe books or in magazines and newspapers.

Some of those are: Itineraries Minnesota, Minnesota Monthly, Minnesota Moments, Outdoors publication, F/M Open magazine, Whack One Entertainment, a recipe book The Best Recipes From America’s Food Festival, and Trip info.com. The Smithsonian Networks is developing a website program called “Key Ingredient: America By Food” and wants to feature food-related items from Potato Days. Food Network filmed the Potato Days Festival in 2001 and they run the segment to this day.

Typing in Potato Days in a search brings up many web sites carrying the festival. The festival is known nation wide and even world wide. An email came from South Africa asking for a t-shirt to add to a collection.