N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 8 POTATO GROWER 25 This is the new University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks mascot. There were thousand’s of people gathered in downtown Grand Forks and East Grand Forks to enjoy the Kem Shriners Potato Bowl parade. (Continued from page 22) Thursday evening was scheduled to be the J. R. Simplot French Fry Feed and AgCountry Farm Credit Services fireworks show held in University Park and Memorial Stadium with normally thousands of people in attendance but because of inclement weather the night had to be cancelled. This is the first time in memory that this has happened since the event was started. Friday afternoon was the University of North Dakota Fan Luncheon held at the Alerus Center. The Grand Marshal of this years Potato Bowl was Dean Blais, past University of North Dakota. Hockey coach. Blais won two National Championships (1994 and 2000) during his tenure as head coach. On Friday evening the Hugo’s Get Wet and Run Wild event was held at The Choice Health and Fitness Center. This was a great event for kids of all ages and the proceeds from the event goes to local food shelves to help those in need. This year we had over 100 particpants and we look to increase that for next year. The Kem Shriners held their first “Rocking The Forks” dance downtown with Blind Joe from the Voice opening up for the band, 32 Below. This event was also very well attended. The Potato Bowl Parade was held Saturday morning, September 22nd before the football game. The parade had over 170 floats this year, all with a potato or football theme. This could have been the largest Potato Bowl parade ever. The parade route returned to downtown Grand Forks where people lined up and down the streets all along the parade route. After the parade everyone made their way over to the Alerus Center in Grand Forks for some tailgating fun. A Potato Bowl tail- gating tent served hundreds of fans who stopped by for a free baked potato bar, and refreshments before the game. Over 825 baked potatoes were served to the hungry crowd. This year’s Potato Bowl football game had a near capacity crowd of 12,000. Unfortunately, the University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks lost to the Idaho State Bengals 25 to 21. The Potato Bowl committee would like to thank all the sponsors and volunteers who help year after year to make this week a suc- cess. We look forward to seeing you all again at next year’s Potato Bowl event. For more information on Potato Bowl, USA visit: www.potatobowl.org.