{"id":2449557,"date":"2019-10-05T22:28:01","date_gmt":"2019-10-06T04:28:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/carbondale-celebrates-its-ghosts-of-past-potato-days\/"},"modified":"2019-10-05T22:28:01","modified_gmt":"2019-10-06T04:28:01","slug":"carbondale-celebrates-its-ghosts-of-past-potato-days","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/local-news\/carbondale-celebrates-its-ghosts-of-past-potato-days\/","title":{"rendered":"Carbondale celebrates its ghosts of past Potato Days"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"swift-gallery p402_hide\" readability=\"6.5\">\n<ul id=\"imageGallery-313935-863\" class=\"gallery list-unstyled\">\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/10\/SpudDay-gpi-100619-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/10\/SpudDay-gpi-100619.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Chelsea Self \/ Post Independent | A group of men unearth the slow-cooked pit barbecue meat and potatoes at the 110th annual Carbondale Potato Day festival Saturday morning at Sopris Park.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-1.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"8\">\n<p><strong>A group of men unearth the slow-cooked pit barbecue meat and potatoes at the 110th annual Carbondale Potato Day festival Saturday morning at Sopris Park.<\/strong><br \/>Chelsea Self \/ Post Independent<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/10\/SpudDay-gpi-100619.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"A group of men unearth the slow-cooked pit barbecue meat and potatoes at the 110th annual Carbondale Potato Day festival Saturday morning at Sopris Park.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/10\/SpudDay-gpi-100619-1-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/10\/SpudDay-gpi-100619-1.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Chelsea Self \/ Post Independent | Kids wave and wait for candy during the 110th annual Carbondale Potato Day Parade down Main Street on Saturday morning.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-1.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"8\">\n<p><strong>Kids wave and wait for candy during the 110th annual Carbondale Potato Day Parade down Main Street on Saturday morning.<\/strong><br \/>Chelsea Self \/ Post Independent<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/10\/SpudDay-gpi-100619-1.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Kids wave and wait for candy during the 110th annual Carbondale Potato Day Parade down Main Street on Saturday morning.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"caption-toggle\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/local\/carbondale-celebrates-its-ghosts-of-past-potato-days\/#\" class=\"show-captions\">Show Captions<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/local\/carbondale-celebrates-its-ghosts-of-past-potato-days\/#\" class=\"hide-captions\">Hide Captions<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">For most of the last 15 years, Luke Nestler has had a front-row music seat at the annual Potato Day festival in Carbondale.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Not only is his perch right next to the music stage in Sopris Park, he\u2019s been the primary gatekeeper for the yearly KDNK music sale \u2014 one of the many fundraisers for the community radio station.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Saturday marked Nestler\u2019s last official act as the longtime music director for the radio station. He\u2019s set to retire from that job and move on to some other things.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cI\u2019ve been on staff for 15 years, and I\u2019ve been doing a regular show on the air since 1989, which \u2014 oh my god \u2014 that\u2019s 30 years,\u201d he said as early morning music enthusiasts filed through bins full of vintage vinyl records and compact discs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cI love watching all these music nerds drool all over the records,\u201d Nestler said. \u201cAnd when they bring it to me to pay for it, I love looking through it and seeing what people like.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cThe thing I learned pretty early on is, it doesn\u2019t matter your politics, it doesn\u2019t matter who you are or what your job is, or anything \u2014 everybody likes music \u2026 I just love that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The KDNK record sale is just one of the many traditions that have grown up around the more-than-century-old Potato Day festival.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">At 110 years, it\u2019s Carbondale\u2019s oldest festival. And with the \u201cGhosts of Potato Days Past\u201d theme, Saturday\u2019s installment provided a picture-postcard sunny fall day for the celebration.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Over at the cowboy coffee caldron, Jim Barnett was busy catching up with people over a cup of joe.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The key to cowboy coffee \u2014 \u201cslow cookin\u2019 over a hot fire,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cWe lit the fire at 6:30 this morning, and put the coffee in about 7, so it\u2019s been boiling for about two and a half hours,\u201d Barnett said just before the parade.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The caldron itself is an old copper kettle that was once used at a dairy farm outside town to make cheese. It\u2019s now owned by the town and brought out just once a year for the cowboy coffee at Potato Day.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Barnett has been the coffee master for about 15 years.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cThis used to be potato farming country, and this is harvest time \u2014 so it\u2019s pay day,\u201d he said of the heritage behind the Potato Day festival. \u201cWe don\u2019t do too many potatoes around here anymore, but it\u2019s still a big tradition.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cI just like seeing all the people, and visiting,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">April Spaulding was a parade announcer for the second year in a row, joining KDNK Station Manager Gavin Dahl on the judges stand on Main Street.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cI just love that Potato Day is a very, very local Carbondale tradition,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s been going for a long time, and I love seeing all of our residents out at the park and here at the parade.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Parade entry honors this year went to Mason Morse Real Estate, Bishop Plumbing and the Ross Montessori School.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Johnny Davis and Ann Samuelson had a choice spot sitting along the parade route. They\u2019ve each been to 50-plus Potato Days.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cI love everything about it \u2026 just sitting here and watching. I think it\u2019s absolutely terrific,\u201d Davis said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Added Samuelson, \u201cI just like all the excitement in the air. The parade was great this year, and I love the theme.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText Tagline\"><a href=\"mailto:jstroud@postindependent.com\">jstroud@postindependent.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/local\/carbondale-celebrates-its-ghosts-of-past-potato-days\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: The Aspen Times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A group of men unearth the slow-cooked pit barbecue meat and potatoes at the 110th annual Carbondale Potato Day festival Saturday morning at Sopris Park.Chelsea Self \/ Post Independent Kids wave and wait for candy during the 110th annual Carbondale Potato Day Parade down Main Street on Saturday morning.Chelsea Self \/ Post Independent Show CaptionsHide [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-2449557","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-27 20:50:08","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSPN The Valley&#039;s Quality Rock","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2449557","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2449557"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2449557\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2449557"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2449557"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2449557"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}