The biggest project of the business association – the Candy Championships – is fast approaching.
The auditions at Hoppets Torg in Jönköping on Friday, August 9, will start at 11 am and end at around 11 pm. at 17:00, and it is there that the ”Polka-dot Baker of the Year” 2013 will be awarded as usual. ”The ’Polkagris Baker of the Year’ will then represent Sweden in the grand final.
Final on Saturday, August 10 at the Vätterscenen at Gränna harbor at 14. Come and cheer for the winner! You have probably seen that Lasse Kronér will be the host and Leif Mannerström will be the chairman of the jury.
After the final there will be an after party at Gyllene Uttern! It would be great if as many people as possible could attend. All participants and the jury will be present (as far as we know). It will be a great opportunity to meet other people and a good opportunity for all of us to promote Gränna – The Candy Capital of the World – and what we can do here for all foreign visitors and provide a good basis for next year’s competition. It also gives us a reason to meet and have a good party together.
18:00 on Saturday, August 10
3-course dinner, live music by ”Red and White” and DJ Abbe playing records until the wee hours of the morning.
Clothing is a jacket
Price 500 SEK + 20 in advance fee.
Where to buy the ticket – Kalles Tobak
Christina Gyllner has been baking for as long as she can remember. She started baking as a child with her grandmother and has never stopped since. Christina is Sweden’s first winner of ”Hela Sverige Bakar”, the Swedish version of ”The Great British Bake Off”. Now she has published her first cookbook, or rather baking book, ”Sockerchock” and appears on ”Mitt Kök” on TV4. ”In a conversation with Christina, she told me that she had been to Luxembourg recently, and that what she brought home were eggs and sugar, and in her medicine cooler she had room for butter as well. Then I realized how incredibly passionate she is about baking, and there is no doubt that she will be an amazing judge for the Candy Championships 2013.” says Lovisa Ljung, Media Manager for the Candy Championships.
The Candy Championships will take place in Jönköping and Gränna on August 9-10 this summer. Participants from all over Europe come to compete to see who can make the best candy canes in the world. Leif Mannerström and Christina Gyllner, winners of ’Hela Sverige Bakar’, are two of the judges who will assess the skills of the participating sugar bakers.
It is now confirmed that the first participant from outside Europe is ready. ”Schimpff’s Confectionery” from Jeffersonville, Indiana, USA is a family business founded in 1891, and through generations it is still alive and thriving today, having just been awarded the Family Business of the Year in the State of Indiana by the US Small Business Administration. Warren and Jill Schimpff have been running the family business for 25 years, usually making caramels and chocolates by hand, best known for their ’Cinnamon Red Hots’, bright red caramels with a cinnamon flavor. Now they will try their hand at baking Swedish candy canes, with Warren himself competing for Schimpff’s Confectionery and the USA. ”They are practicing hard at home in Indiana and are excited to come to Sweden to compete in the candy crafts.
With so many generations of sugar bakers, I think we will face tough competition from the US, Warren has candy craftsmanship in his blood.” says Lovisa Ljung, media manager for the Candy Championships.
Shops and cafes, restaurants, etc. are open from 20:00 to 24:00.
At 20:00, Mie Hellberg starts Zumba on the plateau below the square.
Go there and shake your furry and enjoy a girl filled with positive energy!!!
At the museum there will be a concert at 21:00
There will also be a small report on Vätterundan in tomorrow’s JP.
Gränna Näringsliv also advertises in Tranås Tidning’s summer supplement, which is published.
on Tuesday next week. It also promotes the county card, which we hope will be successful.
Hope you have a nice Vätternrunda with many happy and willing visitors!
Now it’s time for Polkagris-VM again, this year everything will be bigger and with a clear goal, to put Gränna on the map internationally, and we have therefore renamed Polkagris-VM to Candy Championships. Candy Championships, with the support of Gränna Näringsliv, has received 1.2 million through the municipality and the EU to promote Gränna. When we applied for support for the project in January, one thing was very clear: the money should not be used for Gränna entrepreneurs to market candy canes, the money should go to marketing Gränna and the surrounding area. The aim of the Candy Championships this year is to attract more foreign visitors and to create an annual event with an international character. By hosting the World Cup on August 9-10, we hope to extend our tourist season, both this year and in the future. A project like this, involving many local businesses from the county, will contribute to the development of the whole area. As business grows and the tourist season is extended by a few weeks, we postpone the ”end of season” with the usual shuttered shops and instead bring the County to life for a few more weeks. Interest in the County is being raised in new forums, both nationally and internationally. Gränna’s strategic location midway between Stockholm and Gothenburg means that with activities like this we can quite easily grab another share in the battle for tourists. The idea is for the Candy Championships to be self-sustaining and fully developed by 2020. In this decision, we have also considered the Gränna cooks who have the most to do at the end of July and agreed that it would be easier for them if the World Cup takes place in August instead. Of course, not only will the candy cane bakers benefit from a season extension, but hotels, cafes and shops in Gränna and the surrounding area will also benefit. Below is information about our vision and what the World Cup will look like this year, instructions for registering now, but you will also be invited to a more detailed information meeting in mid-June.
The biggest difference in the competition this year is that we have created an interesting, exciting and entertaining event that makes both Swedish and foreign participants and visitors want to return to the county and the world championship every year. For this reason, we focus on an entertaining show and have improved the conditions for the baking of the candy cane itself. Our vision is for the World Cup to be more fun than pretentious, for everyone, more show than fight. With big names such as Lasse Kronér and Håkan Eng as hosts, Leif Mannerström as chairman of the jury and several foreign participants, we create good conditions for attracting Swedish, as well as international, media coverage, both before, during and after the competition.
We have had contact with several sugar bakers in Europe, as well as visiting some of them, and there is great interest and enthusiasm for both Gränna and the competition. Denmark, Germany, Poland and the USA are already ready for the competition, and we are discussing with Spain, the Netherlands, England and Algeria, among others. We can say that our foreign colleagues with whom we have been in contact have not been particularly impressed by the polka dots themselves. What has greatly impressed them all is that there are almost 15 caramel makers in a small town like Gränna with about 2500 inhabitants. We have been impressed by their detailed sugar craftsmanship, which actually beats our candy cane by a mile, and it didn’t take long to realize that what is unique to Gränna is not that there are caramel makers but that there are almost 15 of them. We have by far the most caramel makers per capita in the world, so thanks to all the sugar bakers in Gränna, Gränna’s beautiful and charming surroundings, and the County’s annual Candy Championships, we can reinforce Gränna’s brand by creating another one: ”Candy Capital of the World”. Together with Gränna Näringslivs, we share a vision that Candy Championships, together with Candy Capital, will be one of the pieces of the puzzle to attract more tourists to Gränna.
Sponsorship/cooperation/engagement: We are immensely grateful for all the sponsorship, good cooperation, engagement, tips and ideas we have received and are receiving. We thank Gyllene Uttern, Grännastrandens camping, Hotell Amalias hus, Destination Jönköping, Hamnkrogen, Bergströms, Grenna Blommor and Gränna Eltjänst, and welcome new sponsors, collaborations and commitments.
We know that Candy Championships will be an asset for all entrepreneurs in Gränna, Polkagrisen already sells itself, we are working to highlight more good things about Gränna and hope that as many people as possible want to join the train. Restaurants might have a ”Candy Championships dessert” or a ”World Cup pizza” on the menu, cafes and ice cream parlors a World Cup pastry or World Cup ice cream, shops a ”World Cup offer” or signage with ”Offer of the week in the candy capital”, etc. I know that we have an incredible number of talented and creative entrepreneurs in the County and I have no doubt that many new and great ideas will be generated around this. If we can help you with anything, or if you want to exchange ideas, don’t hesitate to contact us or visit us, we are located at Hallska Gården next to the Roman buildings.
Media: We will all get a lot of media attention in newspapers, online, TV and radio, both in Sweden and internationally. Already the media coverage is growing and the Candy Championships website, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are continuously updated with news, including shorter presentations about the company in the social media, and more detailed information about the company and the participating baker on the website. We are working now, and during and after the event we will send new press releases, call TV and radio and try to get as much media coverage as possible. We will make a TV feature about each company and participant, which together with a TV production about Gränna will be sold to the media. All companies, along with participating bakers, will also be presented by Håkan Eng and Lasse Kronér during the competition.
The competition: The competition is completely free for everyone, we will provide all the bakers with sugar, peppermint oil, E120, talcum powder, tables, pots, thermometers, official World Cup wrapping paper etc. etc. To make the competition as easy and fair as possible for our bakers, everyone will have access to their own assistant (experienced candy cane baker) who will help with the rowing and make sure that everything is in place, that all temperatures are right, tools are working, etc. We need help from all Gränna entrepreneurs to spread the word. We also need drivers. We are not able to pay them but rely on commitment and goodwill. We are convinced that many would appreciate helping out and having fun as well as gaining experience of how a big event works backstage. All assistants and drivers will receive a backstage pass and we are also offering two free tickets to the World Cup after-party for those who volunteer.
The selection for the final will take place during Jönköpingsfesten on Friday 9/8 at Hoppets torg in the city center, and will be led by radio presenter and sports commentator Håkan Eng. Jönköpingsfesten is the largest public festival in the municipality and we see the collaboration with them as a great opportunity for good PR and many spectators.
The jury will, after the auditions, select 5 participants who will represent their countries on the Vätterscenen in Gränna harbor 10/8 with Lasse Kronér as host. After the final, there will be a World Cup after-party in the new world champion’s honor at Gyllene Uttern with a 3-course dinner, live music and a DJ. Bakers and assistants will receive two free tickets each and it will also be possible to buy tickets, just like at the County Gala.
Do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions. You can also read more on www.candychampionships.com which is continuously updated with information, news and new participants. On the website you will also find links to the Candy Championships Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, feel free to follow and like!
Hello good friends and good acquaintances, I am lucky to have a wife who is both talented and likes me, now she invites you to an exciting session and start-up with the Vandal Academy on 30/8 – 31/8, it would be really nice to see some of you there!
Sincerely, Erik.
Since February 1 this year, Karin has been working on the task of developing Research and Education activities at Vandalorum – center for art & design, within the
The practice of creation: entrepreneurship and media opportunities – a very exciting assignment in collaboration with Linnaeus University and Jönköping University.
An important part of the mission is to create meetings between practice and academia, which is done, among other things, through the establishment of the
The Vandal Academy – a meeting place for art, business and science!
Here is the Invitation to the Premiere on the last weekend in August. We would be delighted if you are able to participate. It will be an exciting program with participants from practice and academia – from different spheres of interest – from different parts of the country. Feel free to bring company!
