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Hospitality Spud is a Mr. Potato Head statue that WPRI photographed inside J.H. Gaudet Middle School in Middletown, Rhode Island. It is one of the Mr. Potato Head statues from the state's 2000 Birthplace of Fun tourism campaign.
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Hospitality Spud (Gaudet Middle School)
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Site-level location · 41.5194° N, 71.2792° W
FIELD GUIDE
The story
Hospitality Spud is one of the Mr. Potato Head statues Rhode Island scattered across the state in 2000. According to WPRI-TV in 2024, the 6-foot-tall fiberglass spuds date to that year, when the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation teamed up with Hasbro for the "Birthplace of Fun" tourism campaign. The 47 statues were designed by local artists and dispersed around the state.
This one was originally painted to resemble a pineapple, the symbol of hospitality. WPRI describes him as beloved by students and staff at J.H. Gaudet Middle School in Middletown. He kept his original design, but staff removed the fronds from his head so he could be dressed up throughout the year. WPRI's 2024 photograph shows him inside the school.
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WHAT TO EXPECT
Statue on a public middle-school campus, dressed up through the year.
ACCESS
Located inside J.H. Gaudet Middle School (1113 Aquidneck Avenue, Middletown, RI). The statue is inside an active school building and no public viewing is described; it is not a place to visit without school permission.
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