NOTHING says “summer” like mangoes- just ask the nippers of North Bondi.
The Australian Mango Industry Association (AMIA) has again launched its summer campaign by utilising the enthusiasm for sun and sand by up-and-coming lifesavers at its Mess-tival earlier this month.
Mess-tival is a free, one day festival celebrating the peak of the Australian mango season and the official arrival of summer.
The largest Nipper program in the country competed in fast and furious mango-based challenges including mango relay races and mango flag races.
This year, for the first time, the Nippers took on the public in a series of eating competition challenges that left no doubt in anyone's mind who the undisputed champions were.
Mango growers from across the country representing Kensington Pride, Honey Gold, Calypso and R2E2 varieties regaled passers by with their stories, whilst the public could pick up free summer swag at a hashtag marquee.
In addition to all the fun and festivities, the event raised $13,000 for the North Bondi Surf Life Saving Club, making a total of $38,000 since the event began in 2012.
CEO of the Australian Mango Industry Association, Robert Gray, said everyone has a summer memory of running through the sprinklers with mango mush all over their face, or waiting for dad to come home with the first tray of the season.
“It is a fruit that is deeply entrenched in our nation’s heart and memory. With Mess-tival, our ambition is to remind people why mangoes are their favourite summer fruit and create new mango memories for years to come,” he said.
“Special thanks to our growers who work tirelessly all year round, and the North Bondi Surf Life Saving Club – both of whom Mess-tival would never be possible."
