Hey everyone
Well what a fantastic event Spud in a Bucket turned out to be again. Well done to Stew Wadey for his dedication and drive in getting this so well patronized this year and to his team of willing helpers in getting the job done on the night.
With Stew's determination, 150 buckets were sold this year!!! and I think that is a new record. What a great community event and the weigh-in was well attended on a beautiful summer evening, and enjoyed by all.
The spud in the bucket has been an ongoing community event for many, many years and has always enjoyed some keen rivalry between Matamata Rotary and the Kiwanis and many businesses and individuals. All of the growers have their own individual "trick" up their sleeve which they believe will produce that outstanding bumper crop. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. It was fantastic to see a good number of children growing this year and David Hulme encouraged those present to encourage their friends next year to join the fun and have a go.
A great crowd enjoying a beautiful summer evening
Prized crops just waiting to be weighed.
Owen Westlake and Graeme Guilford on the extraction and sorting process.
Ray Coote - up to his arms in it and enjoying his first Rotary Spud in a Bucket Weigh-in
Some in depth discussion going on here between the media - Caron Stewart from The Scene and Rotarian Sue Whiting
David Wheadon's prize winning heaviest spud, weighing in at 807grams
And from biggest to smallest....
Merv King recieving his price from President Alice Albright for the smallest crop weighing .047kgs with the smallest potato of his crop, not able to register a weight on the scales....back to the drawing board Merv!
And the overall winner was..... Tina Troughton!!!!
Tina's crop weighed in at an awesome 4.731kg
Tina commented that this was a fantastic community event that she has been trying to win for 14 years!!
Well done Tina.
From left to right, President Alice Albright,
in 2nd Place - Peter Thissen - crop of 4.505kg
in 1st Place Tina Troughton - crop of 4.731kg
in 3rd Place - Lance - crop of 3.645kg
Well done to everyone and we look forward to another great event next year.