Seven Western New York companies competed to build structures made entirely out of canned goods during the 2018 Fairgrounds Festival of Lights Canstruction® Competition. Employees from Praxair, Ferguson Electric, Hamburg Gaming, Wendel, Hale Expo Services, Trautman Associates and National Fuel took part with all food used benefiting the Food Bank of Western New York. Teams had a total of 12 hours to build displays. 2018 category winners are:
Structural Integrity – Wendel (Bring Home the Celery!)
Best Meal – Wendel (Bring Home the Celery!)
Best Use of Labels – Hamburg Gaming (Christmas Trees)
Most Original Design – Wendel (Bring Home the Celery!)
Most Cans Used – Ferguson Electric (Buffalo Skyline with a total of 14,113 cans, 250 boxes of cereal & 62 bags of rice
The Competition’s “People’s Choice” award will be determined at the close of the Festival on Sunday, December 23rd. Until then, patrons can vote for their favorite Canstruction® by making coin donations to the Food Bank.
Judges included Robert Brunner, Erie County Agricultural Society; Paula Mercurio, CFO Food Bank of Western New York; Martha Buyer, Member of Food Bank of Western New York, Advisory Council; Brian Burd, Buffalo Bills, Director of Training Center Operations; Ron Plant, WGRZ.
Wendel’s design, winner of three awards, was based on the Buffalo Bisons’ iconic “Wing, Cheese & Carrot Race” at Coca-Cola Field. The sculpture featured fan favorite Celery Stalk comes out of retirement for one more showdown against his old foes the Atomic Wing and Bleu Cheese.
The Canstruction® Competition is part of this year’s Fairgrounds Festival of Lights currently taking place at the Erie County Fairgrounds. Now in its final days, the Festival runs daily through Sunday, December 23rd. The Festival is open from 5:00pm-9:00pm, with the buildings and grounds staying open until 10:00pm. The Fairgrounds Festival of Lights is sponsored by the Erie County Agricultural Society (ECAS). www.FairgroundsHoliday.com.
