O’LEARY
The Prince Edward Island Potato Blossom Festival’s Canadian Potato Peeling Championship has gone international. American summer residents of Hebron, P.E.I. including members of a family that immigrated to the States from Poland nearly 30 years ago, won the team competition Saturday at the O’Leary Community Sports Centre.
The Hebron Peelers, consisting of Beatrice, Greg and Kimberley Siwek and Kathy Lauretano peeled through the eight other teams in the competition to claim the 2018 title. Beatrice Siwek also placed second in the individual competition, her 4.3-pound contribution second only to Sandra MacCollum (4.7 pounds) from the G&E Restaurant’s Team Panda. Marley Sellick from the O’Leary Farmers Co-op team, placed third in the individual category.
Placing second in the team competition were the Potato Patch Kids, four contestants from the recent P.E.I. Potato Blossom Festival Pageant, Miss Potato Blossom Joselyn Jelley and fellow contestants Carley Allain, Jessica Howard and Taylor Buote.
Third place went to the Golden Girls, a Canadian Potato Museum team of Joanne Tuplin, Nick Doucette, Brynne Smallman and Gerry Buchanan.
Judges evaluated the peeled potatoes for peeling and eyes left on and the weight of the peelings was measured against each participant’s potato offering. Knives and vegetable peelers were the tools of choice with some participants bringing both devices to the stage.
