Levi Codognotto, Harry Brill and Liam Charles helped build the rainbow. Photos: Oliver Jacques.
The 27th annual Griffith Real Juice Company citrus sculpture festival kicked off on Sunday (13 October) when hundreds of volunteers braved an unseasonably cold morning to erect 65 different designs along the town’s main street, Banna Avenue.
The idea for the event came from Fete du Citron, or the Menton Lemon Festival, which has been held in France since 1875.
In Griffith, the Real Juice Company donates 100,000 oranges to construct the designs, which are done by local businesses or community groups. The citrus fruit will be on display until Saturday, 26 October, when they’ll be taken down and juiced.
This year we saw an elephant, rainbow and tape measure for the first time, appearing alongside returning designs such as a piano, an FJ Cruiser, a tennis racquet, wheelchair, Murray cod, dollar sign, talking robot, sunbaking chicken, koala and a guitar.
Let’s take a closer look at the story behind three newcomers and some old favourites.
Elephant – Joe’s Citrus
Joe’s Citrus made the elephant.
“Joe’s Citrus was founded by Joe Sergi, who is my Nonno [grandfather], who passed away a few years ago. It’s an orange-packaging company,” said Griffith City Council’s Francine Barbaro, who helped organise the festival.
“Way back when, he developed a logo for the company in which he made an orange that looked like an elephant’s bum. That’s why they’ve chosen an elephant for their first-ever sculpture entry for the festival.”
The design was made by Bruno Sergi, who now runs the company, along with his staff.
Rainbow – Yenda Preschool and Kindergarten Inc
The first rainbow citrus sculpture.
“We asked all the children what they wanted to make for the sculpture and they chose to do a rainbow. That’s why we’ve gone with the grapefruits and stripes, to make it look like a rainbow,” teacher Suellen Roberts said.
“They’ve really enjoyed helping put it together. We’ve also got one of our teachers, Cathy Stockton, who has her garden on display for the festival.”
Tape Measure – Granite Transformations
The tape measure is an interactive design.
Kitchen remodeller Granite Transformations, owned by Pat Agresta, has wanted to do a sculpture for a few years and finally got on board and built one this year.
“Kids have the opportunity to go to the back of it and measure their height and take photos. It’s nice to see another interactive sculpture,” event organiser Izabella Apolloni said.
Fish – Aquna Sustainable Murray Cod
Rachel Guest was one of the brains behind the giant Murray cod.
A relatively new addition to the sculpture festival is a giant Murray cod, which made its debut last year and is, not surprisingly, made by award-winning local fish producer Aquna Sustainable Murray Cod.
The fins, eyes and tail of the fish are made of steel.
FJ Cruiser – Owen Toyota
Billy Cashal rides the Crusier.
Returning to the festival for the 21st time is a model of a Toyota LandCruiser, an FJ Cruiser.
“The structure was previously part of children’s play equipment at the dealership and later converted to an orange sculpture,” Sarah Taranto of Owen Toyota said.
“We use oranges for the base and grapefruit to create a bit of a contrast on the windows and headlights.”
While most sculptures can’t be climbed, the FJ Cruiser is an exception.
“It’s got a moving wheel, kids can get in and honk the horn,” Ms Taranto said.
Tennis racquet – Griffith Tennis Club
Arlo Gray helped build the big tennis racquet.
The giant racquet made its seventh appearance at the festival. It is made from a frame designed by local agricultural supplier Collier and Miller. It is inspired by the 13.8-metre racquet in Barellan, built in honour of Griffith-born tennis legend Evonne Goolagong.
Last year, seven-year-old Conor Meehan explained how it was constructed. Conor was unable to help build it this year due to prior commitments.
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