Racing ducks with wet feet and wet fur

WARSTEIN – Not a cloud was in sight as "We Love Warstein" invited people to enjoy the "colorful hustle and bustle" in the city center on Saturday afternoon as part of the city and asparagus festival. And the program, which was organized by the young people of Warstein, was also impressive.

In the afternoon, however, guests were slow to arrive, and it was not until early evening that the square in front of the large stage at the foot of St. Pankratius Church began to fill up.

The "Wonnesamstag" program kicked off with a mini Olympics, in which participants from all districts of Warstein competed against each other in various disciplines. The city champions were determined in box 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 volunteers' party, which will take place shortly in Belecke or Niederbergheim and where the award ceremony will be held. Meanwhile, a large bouncy castle landscape awaited all the children on the market square, where they could romp and play to their hearts' content.

The music school band 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 three balloon baskets in front of the stage for a candlelight glow. In addition to hits by Helene Fischer and Andreas Bourani, the balloon glow created a particularly atmospheric atmosphere in front of Pankratius 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 a difficult start in the afternoon, "Wonnesamstag" came to a successful conclusion with a large audience.

Of course, the duck race on the Wäster was back again, with the starting signal given at 5:30 p.m. However, the conditions were the most adverse since its premiere in 2003. Presenter Stefan Hötte had to act "with both hands": holding the microphone in one hand and an umbrella in the other, he cheered up the audience who had braved the constant rain to wait at the Bullerteich pond. However, this time everything went faster than in previous years when the Wäster had less water: Leonard Kraß was already declared the winner at 6:05 p.m. when his duck headed alone toward the weir and was fished out by the youth firefighters.

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

And then, among the 2,600 official green racing ducks, there were also ten yellow competitors: CDU mayoral candidate Dr. Thomas Schöne had "smuggled" them into the field. Each one was worth two ice cream sundaes—as a reward for the 20 youth firefighters who always bring the race to a close at the finish line. – pit/sw