Big Potato goes festive

The Big Potato has put up its festive decorations to entice more visitors to the area to admire the alternative Christmas tree at the entrance of Xylofagou.

“It is very beautiful, everyone who sees it is excited,” community leader Georgios Tasou told the Cyprus Mail.

A large metal star was placed on top of the Big Potato with colourful fairy lights attached to it and secured on the ground around the construction.

“Last night, when we completed the decorating process, there were a lot of people there,” Tasou said.

The four-metre Big Potato, a replica of the ‘spunta’ spud variety, became a reference point for the community after it went viral last month.

“Since the day we erected [the Big Potato] not a day passes without visitors. There are a lot of people daily,” Tasou said.

He estimated the Big Potato is acting as a distraction for people during the “difficult times of the pandemic”.

The attraction for both local and tourist visitors to take photos with the construction appears to have brought more business to nearby establishments, the community leader said.

“Two restaurant owners in the area told me that their traffic was increased.”

Commenting on the recent vandalism of the construction, Tasou said the graffiti reading ‘Anola Μ94 F.G.’ was removed using a special solution and “visitors cannot tell where the damage was”.