The winner in the adult section of this year's Alzheimers Gisborne Tairāwhiti Spud in a Bucket Competition is Nathan Peach (left), pictured with his brother Stephen and Alzheimers society volunteer Duncan Gordan.
The winner in the adult section of this year's Alzheimers Gisborne Tairāwhiti Spud in a Bucket Competition is Nathan Peach (left), pictured with his brother Stephen and Alzheimers society volunteer Duncan Gordan.
Christmas came early for several participants in the Alzheimers Gisborne Tairāwhiti Spud in a Bucket competition, which culminated in a weigh-in on Saturday.
Alzheimers Gisborne Tairāwhiti manager Tracy Robinson said the smiles of delight on the faces of the younger entrants were the highlight, despite entries being down on lastyear.
“They take ownership of their buckets and it’s like opening a Christmas gift when the children see the potatoes come out of the soil,” she said.
Gino Maffoni was one such entrant.
The 3-year-old was encouraged by his parents to take full responsibility for nurturing his seed potato, something he took on board with real determination, Robinson said.
What Gino did not realise was that after his nine potatoes had “magically” been revealed when the soil was removed from the bucket, he could take them home.
“His dad said Gino’s amazement continued when he learned that you could cook and eat the potatoes.”
Robinson said 167 people opted to buy a spud to plant in their bucket this year. Some competition entrants are regulars who come back year after year, several of whom win prizes year after year.
The main winner in the adult section was one of them Nathan Peach was a prize-winner last year. This year he picked up first in the heaviest yield with his crop of 38 spuds (weighing 1410 grams).
Florance Venema, one of the youngest entrants and winners at the Alzheimers Gisborne Tairāwhiti Spud in a Bucket Competition, is pictured with Matt Tomlinson-Moulds from competition sponsors Bunnings and Alzheimer’s society manager Tracy Robinson.
Another family who are regular winners are the Hodgetts.
This year, mum Rebecca was second with her yield of 36 spuds (weighing 1275g).
Glen McCulloch had the third-highest number of spuds at 34, but he was pipped for the third-heaviest crop by Janet Willson, whose spuds weighed in at 1198g.
In the Under-5 section, Aidan Edwards (5) was the main winner with 27 spuds (1199g). Ezra Evans (3) came second with 24 spuds, while Sapphire McKee (4) was third with 21 potatoes.
The youngest winners on the day were both 2-year-olds: Hineraumati Karaka, who won the heaviest crop at 942g and Florence Venema, who was third in weight with 630g.
In the over-5 to 12yrs age group, Destiny Hodgetts (12) picked up a double first with a huge crop of 28 spuds at 1106g in weight. Her sister, Cyrstal (10) was second in weight with 936g. Emilie Murphy (10) was third with 741g.
Arlo Dixon (8) was delighted by his 23 spuds, which earned him second place in the number of spuds. Ciahn Ebbett (8) was third with 17 potatoes in her bucket.
Robinson was grateful to the Rotary Club of Gisborne for its support and gave huge thanks to Bunnings for the sponsorship of the prizes.
“The sponsorship from Bunnings is amazing. There are so many prizes to win - it really is worth entering and coming along.”
