$55,000 "joke" potato salad Kickstarter concludes with party, large donations to charity

The infamous potato salad crowdfunding effort, created by a man named Zack Brown, raised over $55,000, which is an insane sum for what may have started as a fun joke. The campaign was rather clever in a number of ways, and according to Kickstarter it brought many people to the service.

So what happened? The extra funds were used to organize "PotatoStock," a party celebrating all things potato salad. The event took place on September 27 in Columbus Ohio and was, by all reports, a large success.

"Piada will be serving potato salad (free for backers, suggested donation for non-backers). Enjoy family-friendly activities running early in the day, provided by Local Matters," CD102.5, a local radio station, stated on the official page. "The Columbus Idea Foundry will be on hand doing demos. The Idaho Potato Commission will have potato sack races running, and Homage will be selling a day-of-event t-shirt."

"Beer and food concessions begin at 12pm, and music begins at 1pm. Free carousel rides for those who are young and young at heart will be available from 12pm to 9pm."

Of course you can check out the festival from this drone footage, because that's a thing that happens now.

The event also ended with some significant contributions to charity. "Brown is partnering with the Columbus Foundation to support charities that fight hunger and homelessness. The account started with $20,000 in post-campaign corporate donations and will grow after proceeds from PotatoStock are added," the AP reports.

It also looks like everyone had a great time, which is a nice bonus.