The Potato Festival

It was August 19—National Potato Day! The family was going to the Potato Festival. “ First, I’ll drop off my potato soup for the cooking contest, ” said Dad. He took a big pot out of the car. “ Let’s walk around while Dad goes to the judges’ tent, ” said Mom.

At the first booth was a big world map. “ It says potatoes came from the Andes Mountains in South America, ” said Kate. “ Early explorers took them to Europe and Asia. ” “ Potatoes kept thousands of Europeans from starving, ” said Mom. “ But look, ” said Seth, pointing at the map. “ Europeans took Potatoes to North America. "

“ Potatoes grow well in many places, ” said Mom. “ They’re one of the world’s largest food crops. ” “ Enough geography, ” said Seth. “ Let’s eat! ” “ We’re waiting for Dad, ” said Kate. They walked to another booth. A sign read: “ What Can You Do with a Potato?”

“ Wow! You can polish shoes and remove rust with potatoes, ” said Mom. “ This is cool, ” said Kate. “ You can make glue. ” “ Look at this! ” called Seth. They watched a man stick two pieces of metal into a potato. He connected wires to the metal pieces. A small lightbulb lit up!

“ It’s a potato battery, ” said Seth. “ A potato can power a small lightbulb for about forty days, ” said the man. “ Cool! ” said Seth. “ A potato costs a lot less than batteries! ” Seth’s stomach growled. “ Sounds like you need to power up, ” said Mom. “ There’s Dad at the French fry booth. ”

They hurried over. Dad grinned. “ I’m discovering how to eat French fries. ” “ It’s easy, ” said Seth. “ You dip them in ketchup. ” “ In the Philippines they use banana ketchup, ” said Dad. “ The English put vinegar on them. And in France they use mustard. ”