This year's Portage la Prairie Potato Festival is going to be accompanied by a brand new event at Rotary Republic Park.

Sandy Blight (photo by Mike Blume)"We're holding the first annual Fire-truck Pull for Muscular Dystrophy," says firefighter Sandy Blight. "We are calling for teams of up to ten women, and teams of eight men, or a mixed team of eight men and women. They're pulling a fire-truck -- a 36-thousand pound fire-truck for 100 feet as fast as they can."

Blight explains he saw the RCMP hold a similar event several years ago at the Portage Mall, and got the idea. Although the event takes place on August 12, he says they need people to register by August 1 so they can know how many teams will participate. And they want as many teams as they can get.

Blight adds, if there's enough interest a second team can pull another truck against another team, and kids under 15 years of age can compete in teams of 15 to pull a mini-pumper.

Contact Blight by email at sandyatkaf@hotmail.com to register or for further information.  You can follow them on Facebook at PFD/Truck Pull.

Similar truck pulls held in another city (submitted photo)