Barnesville may be a town of only 2,200 residents, but its respect for the potato is mighty. In 1938 the city's civic leaders decided to honor the humble tuber with a festival -- bands, parades, races -- as well as with a strict decree: All Barnesville businessmen would have to wear potato-sack clothing for the 10 days preceding the festival. Failure to comply placed wrongdoers under penalty of fines and eventual lockup in the public stocks. Although the threat of being manacled no longer applies (we think), the donning of potato-sack attire continues with the festival's annual Potato Sack Fashion Show.

But fashion is just one facet of the total Potato Days experience. There are the potato picking and peeling contests, the mashed potato sculpting competition, and lots of potato food to be consumed. While the Potato Cook-Off and the National Lefse Cook-Off (lefse is a Scandinavian potato pastry) certainly inspire fine potato dining, festival director Brenda Brand says the big draw among the 15,000 visitors is the dumplings. "It's amazing -- people will drive miles just to have their potato dumplings," Brand says. For more information, visit www.potatodays.com.