Citrus Sculpture oranges to see different use upon deconstruction

The sculptures, an integral part of Spring Fest celebrations, saw 70 designs constructed of nothing but citrus, rubber bands and frames.

Owner of the Real Juice Company Tony Taliano said it takes a week to prepare the oranges for use on the sculptures.

"We have to be quite delicate with the fruit we use," Mr Taliano said.

Mr Taliano said the company properly grades the fruit before choosing oranges of suitable sizes and coating the oranges in a layer of wax for protection.

However, standing in the elements for two weeks is no easy task, with many of the oranges used to construct the sculptures going towards animals after the event.

"The sun has an effect on the fruit," Mr Taliano said.

"Those oranges [heavily damaged by the sun] go to cattle feed."

A bulk of the oranges which have not been damaged by the sun will return back to the Real Juice Company, where they will be juiced to become part of the company's line of juices.

READ MORE

Mr Taliano said while the company processes 250,000 oranges a day in production, the decision to back the Spring Fest and donate 100,000 oranges for the citrus sculptures is a straight-forward decision.

"With citrus prices on the up and up, it's quite a costly exercise," Mr Taliano said.

"But we love doing this for our community."

The sculptures, now in their 24^th year, have become a showpiece for the city's Spring Fest and Griffith City Council's event coordinator Georgina Horton said it was a "fantastic" event this year.

"We've only really had positive feedback," Ms Horton said.

"It was good to see the community take ownership of them."

The last day the sculptures will be showcased will be on Saturday, before a team of volunteers works to pull them down on Sunday.

***

While you're with us, did you know that you can now receive updates straight to your inbox every Monday at 6am from The Area News? To make sure you're up to date with all the Griffith and MIA news you can sign up here.