Nelson franchise owner Shane de Vries represents CrestClean in giant pumpkin competition
The annual Easter Fair in Māpua is Māpua School’s biggest fundraiser and attracts over 10,000 visitors. With 220 stalls, delicious food, and fun rides, it’s a great day out for the whole family.
This year, a beloved local tradition returned thanks to Māpua School Deputy Principal, Zac Deacon. The legendary giant pumpkin competition, once a highlight of the fair, was back in action.
“When we first moved here there was a giant pumpkin competition at the Māpua Tavern, which is opposite the school,” says Zac.
“Once a year we would see these huge pumpkins, some that had to be delivered by trucks. One was even delivered by helicopter; it was so heavy.”
While out on a run one day, Zac noticed a giant pumpkin in someone’s garden, inspiring him to revive competition after its decade-long hiatus.
“I put a note in the person’s letterbox saying I’d be keen to start up the pumpkin competition again. They turned out to be the last people that ran the competition, so they gave me seeds from their plants that I shared throughout the school,” says Zac.
Zac distributed the pumpkin seeds to ever child in the school last October, allowing participants about five months to grow their pumpkins.
CrestClean Nelson franchise owner and Māpua School cleaner, Shane de Vries, got his hands on two seeds and decided to enter the competition too.
Shane’s giant pumpkin weighed in at 60.4kg, earning him fifth place in the competition.
The winning pumpkin weighed a whopping 107.8kg.
“Most people brought them in on the back of pickup trucks or trailers. One family brought theirs from their house on a trolley,” says Zac.
Zac was given the original trophy from the historic Māpua pumpkin growing competition. On it are the weights of each of the winning pumpkins.
“In 2012, the winning pumpkin was 616kg. I think that was the one that was delivered by helicopter,” says Zac.
Growers could enter their pumpkins into one of three categories: Giant Pumpkin, Ugliest Pumpkin and ArtyFarty Pumpkin, which involved decorating the pumpkin.
As they weren’t an edible variety, Shane took some home to give to his chickens and Zac took some back to school to put them on display for a while before sending them to Green Waste to be composted.
“Next year we’re going to give them all to Shane and he can give them to his chickens,” Zac jokes.
Māpua locals welcomed back the beloved pumpkin competition and Zac is happy to keep the tradition going.
“We had a lot of good comments and people definitely want to make it happen again next year, so I’ve harvested the seeds from the winning pumpkin to give out again,” he says.
“I think this is something we’re going to have to keep going.”
We can’t wait to see what size pumpkin Shane grows next year!
