Organizers, sponsors and new ambassadors celebrate Tap the Tater Days success

Farmington festival organizers gave the City Council a recap of Tap the Tater Days during the July 21 meeting, thanked volunteers and sponsors, and introduced the 2025 Farmington ambassadors. Christy Kerr, chair of the Farmington Area Enhancement Group, said the festival — renamed to reflect the local Kemps plant — attracted visitors from Duluth and Rochester and boosted local business activity. "We had a wonderful, uneventful... very fun community event," Christy Kerr said, and she noted a new multiyear sponsorship with Kemps, which will be the naming sponsor through the plant’s 100‑year anniversary under a multiyear agreement. Kerr said organizers were proud the festival highlighted community organizations such as Future Farmers of America and local businesses and that downtown merchants reported increased sales. The council and staff thanked organizers and ambassadors. The mayor and council members emphasized the volunteer effort required to stage the festival and praised committee members and the ambassadors for representing Farmington at other events. Three junior ambassadors introduced themselves: Laurie Flores Cortez, Kate Moorhead and Violet Strawn, each a soon‑to‑be freshman at Farmington High School, and each briefly described their favorite festival events. Council members encouraged the ambassadors to enjoy the role and noted the festival’s revival and recent growth were the result of sustained volunteer effort and long‑term planning. No formal action was required; the presentation was an acknowledgment and community recognition item on the agenda.