Racing ducks with wet feet and wet fur

WARSTEIN – There wasn’t a cloud in the sky when “We Love Warstein” invited visitors to the “colorful hustle and bustle” in the town center on Saturday afternoon as part of the town and asparagus festival. And the programme organized by the young Warsteiners was also impressive.

However, the guests were slow to arrive in the afternoon and it was not until the early evening that the square in front of the large stage at the foot of St. Pancratius Church filled up.

A small Olympics, in which participants from all districts of Warstein competed against each other in various disciplines, kicked off the program for “Wonnesamstag”. The town champions were determined in crate climbing, bull riding and archery.

Mainly young participants competed against each other and were rewarded for their efforts by “We love Warstein”. Those who competed for their district received an invitation to the helpers’ party, which will take place shortly in Belecke or Niederbergheim and where the award ceremony will be held. Meanwhile, a large bouncy castle was waiting for all the children on the market square, where they could romp and play to their heart’s content.

The band from the music school kicked off the musical stage program. The young musicians demonstrated their skills with a mix of current and well-known hits. At dusk, the Happy Ballooning Club set up in front of the stage with three balloon baskets for a candlelight glow. In addition to hits by Helene Fischer and Andreas Bourani, the balloon glow created an atmospheric ambience in front of St. Pancratius Church, especially in harmony with John Miles’ “Music”. The highlight of the evening was then provided by the Pur cover band “Abenteuerland”. The hits of the well-known pop band were well received by the audience and so, after the initial difficulties in the afternoon, “Wonnesamstag” came to a successful conclusion with a large audience.

Of course, the duck race on the Wäster, which kicked off at 5.30 p.m., also had it again. However, under the most adverse conditions since its premiere in 2003, presenter Stefan Hötte had to act “ambidextrously”: Holding the microphone in one hand and an umbrella in the other, he cheered up the audience who held out at the Bullerteich despite the constant rain. However, this time everything went faster than in previous years, when the Wäster carried less water: Leonard Kraß was already the winner at 6.05 pm, when his duck headed for the weir alone and was fished out by the young firefighters.

His reward: a shopping voucher worth 250 euros. Duck no. 1097 brings its owner a voucher worth 150 euros. The other winners and voucher values: Sergej Kizimin (120), Maya Fleischer (100), Lot 1211 (90), Merle Arens (80), Nico Kneer ( 70), Jona Beckwermert (60), Lot 0725 (50), Greta Post (30); and vouchers worth 25 euros each were won by: Erich Hoppe, Lot 0839, Ricardo Meulewert, Leon Menzel, Lukas Wagner, Bärbel Tonnesen, Anna Brom, Beatrix Berle, Leonie Schulte and a press team.

And then among the 2600 official green racing ducks there were also ten yellow competitors: CDU mayoral candidate Dr. Thomas Schöne had “smuggled” them into the field: each was worth two ice cream sundaes – as a reward for the 20 youth firefighters who always put an end to the racing fun at the finish line. – pit/sw