Fruitcakes. Either you love ’em or you hate ’em.
Admittedly, the good fruitcakes out there have gotten a bad rap. But, there are some classic cakes that, for some reason, make the re-gifted rounds to family and friends, year after year. The same hard-as-rocks cakes that first came out of the oven in 1970 have logged more airline miles than any of us, and without frequent flyer privileges.
If you receive one of these historic doorstops and plan not to eat it or place it outdoors for the birds to break a bill poking at it, help is close at hand.
Bring your heavy, candied fruit-laden foodstuff Saturday to Manitou Springs, where the Great Fruitcake Toss has developed a tradition of its own. This will be the ninth annual fete to the riddance of ye old confection.
Don’t worry if you don’t have your own fruitcake. The folks in Manitou will have a limited supply of rent-a-cakes available, so you can engage in a variety of competitions scheduled in Memorial Park. Get there early if you’re a renter; last year there were more 100 participants and a gallery of 600 spectators.
Bonafide cake entries must contain candied glaced fruits, nuts and flour, and cannot be filled with anything inedible, such as bricks.
Registration begins at 10:15 a.m. A canned or non-perishable food item will serve as admission for any and all matches.
The first event of the day, starting about 11 a.m., is the Glamour Competition. Here, the fruitcake that has traveled the greatest distance to this annual soiree wins a prize. So do the ugliest fruitcake, the most beautiful one and the one exhibiting the most creativity.
But, the competitions that have made this event as traditional as Christmas itself are those involving tossing, launching, catapulting and flying fruitcakes.
Tossing a 1-pound fruitcake comes down to who has the best arm and who can throw the cake the farthest. If the contestant from last year returns – he tossed his cake 300 feet – the average Joe doesn’t stand a chance.
There are fruitcakes placed on glider aircraft and launched. Members of a local Girl Scout troop try their hand at using a sling shot to propel the sweet stuff. A year ago, one was given a ride attached to a helium balloon and hasn’t been seen since.
Parties of four are eligible to enter the Spatula Races. Committee organizers provide the fruitcakes for this fun relay rivalry.
But the more intricate and dramatic feats include the Fruitcake Launch, in which participants must bring their own mechanical launching devices to the park.
This year, a separate category has been established: Pneumatics. Air-powered spud guns will shoot fruitcakes great distances. At a recent event, a team of contestants used an air cannon to shoot their fruitcake 425 feet – out of the park, across the street and into a neighboring parking lot. During Saturday’s games, fruitcakes will be launched from west to east, so visitors are advised to not park their car on the east side of Memorial Park.
The Hurl is the most exciting and anticipated event of the day. Over the years, the Manitou Springs Chamber of Commerce and city officials have hired engineers to design a catapult specifically for this annual festivity. Anyone participating in this feat is entitled to one fling on the official Great Fruitcake Toss device, harking back to medieval times. Contestants have been known to bring their own wildly concocted catapults.
In between contests, visitors can chow down on hots dogs, chili and hot chocolate at the refreshment tent, sponsored by the local Kiwanis Club.
Winners in each category will be awarded T-shirts emblazoned with the 9th Annual Great Fruitcake Toss logo.
Complete rules and entry forms are available at the Manitou Springs Chamber of Commerce or at Memorial Park on event day.
Lillian Ross is a freelance writer who lives in Howard.
If you go
Manitou Springs is about 75 miles south of Denver via Interstate 25 to U.S. 24, then west to the Manitou Avenue exit.
Information: Manitou Springs Chamber of Commerce, 800-642-2567, or go to www.manitousprings.org.
