Residents of Wellington County and well beyond are getting caught “blue handed” supporting the 2016 International Plowing Match and Rural Expo (IPM).
Among the souvenirs currently on sale promoting the local IPM, to be held from Sept. 20 to 24 on the Harriston-area farm of Anne and Earl Schneider, are blue knit mittens featuring the IPM 2016 logo.
To promote the event and souvenir sales, the committee is running a #CaughtBlueHanded campaign, inviting the public to snap a photo of themselves with their blue mittens and post it to their social media accounts for a chance to win prizes including a pair of tickets to Chicopee Ski Resort or a $50 gift certificate for souvenirs.
Local politicians seem to like the IPM mitts, particularly the colour, notes IPM volunteer Callise Foerter.
“We’ve had a lot of participation from our MP and MPP as the mittens are Conservative blue,” she points out.
Perth-Wellington MPP Randy Pettapiece rounded up 24 members of the provincial Conservative caucus for a group photo wearing the mitts at Queen’s Park.
MP John Nater, meanwhile, has been pictured with former Prime Minister Stephen Harper and interim party leader Rona Ambrose and numerous others, all with mitts in hand.
To enter the contest, participants can tweet, Instagram, or Facebook post a photo of themselves or someone else wearing the IPM mittens with the hashtag: #CaughtBlueHanded.
Contestants may also enter by sending an email including name, email address and phone number to: marketing@ipm2016.com, with a subject line of “CaughtBlueHanded.”
The contest runs until Jan. 15.
To take part or for a list of blue mitten retailers visit www.plowingmatch.org, Facebook.com/IPM2016, Twitter.com/IPM2016 or Instagram.com/IPM2016.
Other souvenir items available include ball caps, toques, t-shirts and jackets featuring the IPM 2016 logo.
