The World's Largest Potato Masher Installed
The special ceremony for the installation of the World’s Largest Potato Masher at the nearly complete Food + Farm Exploration Center earlier today was a “mashing” success. The nearly 39-foot tall potato masher was erected during the program and will serve as a visible iconic attraction that will welcome visitors to the site. The potato masher represents the fun exploration that will happen inside and outside the new Center, honoring the agriculture industry, growers, innovators, and consumers. Plover is a perfect home for the Center because of the rich history Central Wisconsin has in the potato and vegetable industry.
The Exploration Center was born out of the profound need to reconnect people to agriculture and their food. It will be a place for people to come together on a journey into the world of modern agriculture, to meet the people behind the food, to build new science and engineering skills, to connect, play and learn. It will be a teaching farm, a children’s museum, a science center and a community workshop all rolled into a tantalizing celebration of food and farming.
Through the Cultivating Connections Campaign, $28 million dollars has been raised through donations by individuals and corporate partners who are dedicated to the vitality of Wisconsin’s agricultural industry. The total fundraising goal for the project is $41 million.
The event included a short ceremony with speakers Andy Reitz, Executive Director of Farming for The Future Foundation and the Food + Farm Exploration Center; Steve Kunst, Village of Plover; Alicia Pavelski, Founding Member & Board President of Farming for the Future Foundation; Jim Yehle, President & CEO, Findorff; and Les Dobbe, President and CEO of Lineage Logistics in Stevens Point and co-chair of the Cultivating Connections Capital Campaign.
The project was led by construction manager, J.H. Findorff & Son; architect, Eppstein Uhen Architects; and exhibit designer, Gyroscope, and is expected to be open to the public by fall 2023.