TV5 Wake-Up tries Munger Potato Festival’s specialty potato brat
MUNGER, Mich. (WNEM) - Munger Potato Festival, hosted by The Munger Volunteer Firemen Corp, is where potatoes go to party! You can party too by attending day two of the festival this weekend!
On Friday, July 28, festival gates open at 2 p.m.
The family-friendly event is celebrating its 68th year and will feature amusement rides, front wheel drive figure 8, and rear wheel drive team derby. Gates for the races open at 5 p.m. and racing begins at 7 p.m. Tickets are $12 for adults and $5 for kids under 12. After the races, five-pound bags of locally grown potatoes will be given out to patrons.
The entertainment tent is $5 admission, starting at 4 p.m. with an Elvis tribute with Bill Lindsay, followed by Winter Haven Motel at 7 p.m. and The Sinclair’s from 9:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m.
The money raised during the four-day festival typically goes back into the festival and the surrounding towns and townships. The money raised helps with the local baseball diamond’s maintenance, sprinklers and other township improvements, according to Merritt Township Supervisor Dave Schabel.
Perhaps the food item with the most anticipation at the Munger Potato Festival is JB’s Market’s specialty: baked loaded potato brat! Justin Beyer is the owner of the market. This year, they prepared 5,000 brats, a thousand more than the year before, because the demand was so high.
“Think of it as a baked potato covered with sour cream and onion and chives and bacon, that’s what we went for,” Beyer said about the brat.
The Trinity-St. James Lutheran Church in Munger makes it a tradition to attend potato festival to cook and hand out food to the community.
“Our mission is sharing the word of God and helping all. We get to help and serve the community and making sure they’re fed here,” Pastor Jimmy Riley said.
Trinity-St. James Lutheran Church will also host a barbeque chicken tent on Sunday, July 30 at 11 a.m.
The festival has a 5K spud run, cornhole tournament, a parade, music and more! Check out the website for the full schedule.
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