Have you ever had a leftover fruitcake after a holiday meal? Somehow, they always seem to be a staple… the one that no one ever finishes. Chances are you probably tossed whatever was left of the colorful round cake right into the trashcan.
But if anyone knows what to do with an uneaten fruitcake, it's the folks in Manitou Springs.
“Why waste a stale fruitcake? Why not use them to bring our community together?” they thought, and in 1996 the Great Manitou Fruitcake Toss was born. Every year, people come from far and wide to throw fruit cakes–large and small, stale and fresh–as far as they can muster, vying for prizes and the grand title of Fruitcake King and Queen.
For the price of $1 or a can of fruit that is donated to the St. Andrews Food Pantry, you can participate in each fruity competition. You can bring your own or rent a fruitcake to participate in one of the several competition categories: distance, accuracy and balance. Manitou also holds the Great Fruitcake Bakeoff where you, too, can prove that not all fruitcakes should be tossed. But those that are? Leftover fruitcakes from the competition go to a local biodynamic farm and are fed to its piggies because no fruitcake goes to waste on Manitou’s watch.
So, how far can you toss a fruitcake? Find out this year, when the fruitcakes fly again, January 28, from 1-3 pm at Memorial Park.
Website: manitousprings.org/events/fruitcake-toss
Facebook: @ManitouSpringsGreatFruitcakeToss
Instagram: @visitmanitousprings
