The 19th annual fruitcake toss due to be held January 11, 2014 in Manitou Springs, Colorado (next to Colorado Springs) has been cancelled.
According to the event’s Facebook page, “The change in venue, lack of sponsors, and the unpredictability of the weather have decreased attendance.”
Comments about the cancellation:
• It’s a pity the event was canceled — it was a way of putting fruitcakes to a good use.
• This event should be transferred to Boulder — let residents there toss each other.
• It should be made an Olympic sport. America, with 18 years of experience, would win medals.
Attendance began to decline in 2010 when the event was moved out of Memorial Park near downtown to the Manitou Springs High School.
Moving it to the high school was fine for the new large and powerful fruitcake launching devices but didn’t draw crowds like the park did.
And the powerful launchers sometimes sent cakes into residential areas. “When you hit businesses and houses, it’s not a good thing,” an official said.
Only 200 attended the event in 2013, much lower than other years. In the early years and years with good weather attendance was around 1,000.
The Fruitcake Toss began in 1996 when Manitou Springs Chamber of Commerce Director Michele Carvell noticed that friends never wanted to eat fruitcakes they’d received as Christmas gifts.
All is not lost, however: the Manitou Springs event inspired a National Fruitcake Toss Day, which is shown as occurring January 3 on some events calendars, although we have not been able to find any information about specific events and locations.
Read more:
• http://www.visitcos.com/manitou-springs-fruitcake-toss
All is not lost indeed, the Cool Science Mini Fruitcake Toss is ON for this year. It’s a fun and free event for kids scheduled for 1/11/2014 in Manitou Springs. Read all the details at MiniFruitCakeToss.com