Bayreuth Festival named by Bavaria's culture minister, Thomas Goppel, to take over the Festival. They were to take up their duties immediately, since their father had announced his retirement at the conclusion of the 2008 Festival. They were chosen ahead of the pair of their cousin, Nike Wagner, and Gerard Mortier, who had placed a late bid for the directorship on 24 August. The conductor Christian Thielemann has agreed to act as chief adviser to the new directors, effectively taking the role of music director of the Festival. The festival draws thousands of Wagner fans to Bayreuth every summer. It is very
North Carolina Potato Festival 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