MARS HILL (AP) – A Mars Hill potato-farming couple will be marching in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade in New York with a giant Mr. Potato Head balloon.

Wade and Angela McCrum will be part of a group of 16 potato industry members nationwide who were chosen to help steer the U.S. Potato Board’s oversized Healthy Mister Potato Head balloon down the streets of New York.

The balloon is part of the potato board’s campaign to promote the nutritional value of potatoes. It features a Mr. Head Potato who is wearing running shoes and comes with a portable music player, a water bottle and toned-up muscles.

The McCrums, who have 2,900 acres of potatoes, come from a long line of potato-growing families. They were nominated to participate in the parade by the Maine Potato Board.

“Potatoes got a bad rap for a few years, so we’re trying to promote the fact that they’re healthy,” Angela McCrum said.

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Information from: Bangor Daily News, http://www.bangornews.com

AP-ES-11-02-06 1045EST