North Carolina Potato Festival  North Carolina Potato Festival is an annual tradition in Northeastern North Carolina that celebrates one of the region's most important crops. Originally known as the Albemarle Potato Festival, which ran from 1940 through 1970, the once-prominent event was revived in 2001 as the North Carolina Potato Festival. Celebrated annually around mid-May, the festival has returned to its historical prominence as one of the largest regional draws in northeastern North Carolina. Taking place in historic downtown Elizabeth City, North Carolina, the event features the "National Potato Peeling Contest", "Little Miss Tater Tot pageant", potato sack races, a 5K Fun Run and live culinary competitions featuring area chefs. Also present are live bands from throughout the region, aerial fly-overs courtesy of the nearby Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City as well as a range of unique vendors. In addition, the festival usually coincides with the annual "Moth Boat Regatta", a race featuring the now-popular class of small sailboats first developed in 1929 by an Elizabeth City resident, Joel van Sant.