The Tater Team is officially back on the road for the next month! We had so many requests during this off-season that we decided to head back out there! We are fortunate to have so many amazing fans and events that invite us to visit year-round!
Our first stop was Coeur d’Alene, Idaho for Season Two of American Idol taping. It was the second round of auditions and they were held at the Hagadone Event Center inside the CDA Resort Golf Course. The Big Idaho Potato was parked down the road from the entrance along the beautiful CDA lake! We got a lot of traffic, as it is a popular parking spot to take pictures or to set off on one of the hiking trails around the lake! That weekend we were accompanied by Sue, our PR representative from EHY, and Laura a.k.a Mama Bear/Tour Director. They came to support us as this was one of our biggest PR moments ever! The first day we were there, we met with producers from Idol and got the whole scoop for filming. Dan, one of the head producers, even got to go on top of our spud! It was fun showing him and the rest of his crew what we do and inside our new potato! The tater team also had the privilege of exploring the set while they were getting it ready for the auditions. My favorite part was sitting behind the judges’ desk! The judges are Luke Bryan, Lionel Richie, and Katy Perry!
The next day was the big day! That afternoon we got to meet the one and only, Ryan Seacrest! I’m sure you all know, but Ryan has been the host of American Idol since it premiered and has hosted many other shows as well as his own talk show. It was so surreal meeting him, and he was just like I would have expected in real life! He made some jokes and even asked if the potato was real. Ryan did some lines in front of our spud, so make sure you tune in to watch this next season of Idol. It was truly an amazing experience and an honor to be invited! Idol has 10 million viewers, and is a monumental show that has fulfilled so many dreams including ours! Shoutout to all of the producers including Dan, Chris, Olivia, Hannah, and the rest of the crew for making this all possible! We can’t thank them and Idol enough!
We weren’t done in CDA yet! We also hosted a little meet-and-greet for our northern Idaho fans. We had many people stop by including a group from Renaissance Assisted Living, a local school, and many others! We gave out potato swag, Idahoan mashed potatoes, and took many spud selfies. We love you CDA!
The Tater Team was off to our next adventure in Southeast Idaho! We were invited for the second time to visit Pocatello Community Charter School on Arthur St. There, the team divided and conquered since we had seventy five 1st & 2nd graders for 2 hours! I was stationed in the gym and played potato games with some of the children, while Jessica was outside in front of the potato giving a speech and reading a book! This method worked really well, and Spuddy Buddy even came out to visit (while Ron was taking a nap in the truck). We also had a special visitor, Tommy Brown, an Idaho Potato Commissioner from Lamb Weston join in on the fun. He helped with games and even answered some tough potato growing questions from the kids! After it was all said and done, we ended our afternoon with an Idaho Potato feast put on by the parents. They were delicious of course, and it was fun getting to interact with the kids during lunch and answering their funny questions. It was a blast!
Our second stop in SE Idaho was in Idaho Falls! We attended the 3rd annual Ag Fest at the Pinecrest Event Center. It was a celebration to thank Ag Employees because Ag is such a big part of our state’s economy! The Big Idaho Potato was one of the main attractions, but there were also free french fries, entertainment, various booths, and a fun kids area with games. The event was a hit and was very busy almost the entire time. We had a lot of spec-taters wanting to get their photo with the truck too. The Tater Team did some interviews with Channel 8 and the host from “The Potato Podcast”. Travis Blacker from IPC also joined as well, talking with fans and taking photos of people in front of the truck and with Spuddy Buddy!
It was a spud-tacular week touring around our Idahome! We are normally not in Idaho, so it’s special when we get to come back and tell our Idaho fans what we’ve been doing all over the country! Our next stops include San Diego, LA, and Orange Beach, AL! Until next time potato peeps!
-Tater Twin Kaylee
