South Burnett Arts President Jane Iszlaub with some of the 50 mini-tractors parked in their temporary garage in Kingaroy awaiting judging

September 4, 2012

Which tractor is going to win $1000? The excitement’s building as the judging of the Stanwell Gathering Of The Tractors competition draws closer.

The competition, part of the South Burnett’s quirky Tractor Tattoo festival, has attracted 50 entries from kindergartens, schools, art societies and community organisations throughout the South Burnett.

The decorated tractors will go under the eyes of the Tractor Tattoo judges on Thursday. One will roll away with a $1000 prize and two runners-up will each receive $200 each.

Each group initially received a blank wooden tractor cut-out ready for decoration but from that point, the decision on how to decorate the tractors was entirely their own.

Entries received range from the super simple but very colourful to elaborate creations that are simply stunning.

The finished tractors will be judged on Thursday by Corky from CROW-FM, Nicole Connolly from Stanwell Corporation, and Cr Keith Campbell but the winners won’t be announced until the Tractor Tattoo Spectacular on Saturday, September 15.

The competition was organised by regional community arts group South Burnett Arts Inc but could not have happened without sponsorship from Stanwell.

South Burnett Arts President Jane Iszlaub was full of praise today for the effort that been put into the entries.

Her sole regret was there were only three prizes to give away.

“The amount of work that’s gone into many of these tractors is just extraordinary,” she said.

“They’re a tribute to the imagination and talent of local people and they’re a lot of fun, too.”

After the judging, the tractors will be displayed at various locations throughout the region by the South Burnett Regional Council before being reunited with their creators.

  • The competition was sponsored by Stanwell, South Burnett Arts Inc, South Burnett Regional Council, CROW-FM and southburnett.com.au

UPDATE September 6:  The judging’s been done, but the winner’s name is top secret … it will be revealed on the big day! And the tiny tractors’ big brother – the real star of Tractor Tattoo – has now arrived and is parked in a secret location. Instrument designer Steve Langton says four people will play the Tractor …

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