Channahon Announces Inaugural Potato Festival Set For Sept. 18

CHANNAHON, IL —The Village of Channahon announced Monday it will host the inaugural Channahon Community Potato Festival on Sept. 18.

The event will take place from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. in Central Park, 24856 W Eames St., and feature a car show, food trucks, old-school games like egg toss and sack races, tricycle races for kids and adults, music and potatoes, Sydney Thompson, Channahon's Marketing and Communications manager, told Patch.

Thompson said Channahon Mayor Missey Schumacher had the idea for the festival, which will celebrate the village's 60th anniversary, the Channahon Park District's 50th anniversary and the Three Rivers Public Library's 45th anniversary. All three entities are sponsoring the festival and working together to plan the event.

Why Potatoes?

"In Channahon we have large river rocks often found under our soil, and longtime residents refer to them as Channahon Potatoes. The rocks are the same size and shape as potatoes," said Thompson, who said the rocks can be seen at construction sites in piles of dirt, or just found by individuals digging in the dirt.

"We thought we'd put a little spin on that and have a real potato festival."

Thompson said more details about the event will be revealed on social media or the village's webpage as they become available.

"It's a chance to celebrate the anniversaries and get the community together for something fun and different," Thompson said. "And it's something we'd look into carrying into the future."