Alma Spinach Festival is April 19

Spinach – not only is it good for you, it’s also a cause of celebration in the small town of Alma. The 28th annual Alma Spinach Festival will take place April 19 in the downtown area.

The fun starts at 8 a.m. with a Dog Jog 5K Run (registration begins at 6:30 a.m.) You can fuel up from 7 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. at the masonic Lodge Pancake Breakfast. At 8, vendor booths also open and live music begins on the stage.

Noon is primetime for the featured event – a Spinach Eating Contest and Spinach Drop. What is a Spinach Drop? It’s a chance for you to win money and support the local Rotary Club, and Boys and Girls Club. What happens: members of the Rotary Club sell tickets prior to the Spinach Festival and at their booth during the festival. Each ticket is one chance to win. The ticket stub is retained by the purchaser, the ticket is placed randomly on a grid. At noon, a representative from Rotary will drop Spinach from the top of a fire engine ladder. If the Spinach lands on your square of the grid, then you win a share of the ticket sales.

The Spinach Eating Contest has two divisions: adult and youth. Youth is up to 18 years of age. Adult is 18 and older. To participate, simply come to the entertainment stage about 11:45 on festival day. You DO NOT need to sign up before. The rules are simple: How much spinach can you eat in five minutes? The spinach is straight from the can to your plate. Your plate is refilled constantly to see how much you can eat during the five minute contest time. The one to eat the most wins!

Here’s a list of other attractions you don’t want to miss –    mechanical bull,  Daisy BB gun range, climbing wall, carnival games, petting zoo, inflatables, pony rides, library book sale, food, quilt show, quilt raffle, antique tractor show, and more.  New for this year is an inflatable obstacle course the length of a football field, quad power jump, and rocking and rolling bubbles.

The fun begins to wind down at 4 p.m. when live entertainment finishes, and vendor booths close at 5 p.m.