Who doesn't love New Zealand with it's beautiful mountains, rustic coast and wonderful people :). To top this off, the North Island of NZ is home to one of the strangest contests known to man. Actually, make that TWO strange contests. The first being the possum throwing toss and the other being a beauty pageant for dead possums.. both for elementary school kiddos. Let's start with the possum toss. Now don't be so harsh.. NZ isn't the only place where weird traditions such as this exist. Here is US, on the Gulf Coast of Alabama, citizens enjoy an annual mullet toss contest (cute big fish) during a massive beach party (just saying). Colyton School in NZ also enjoys their possum toss contest in which both children and parents participate together. It starts by grabbing the dead possum by it's tail and then tossing it into the air to see who tosses the furthest. The possum is considered a major pest in NZ. The Colyton School out did itself with the possum beauty pageant in which elementary school children tapped into their creative sides by dressing dead possums in various costumes. It was considered a positive community event in which children learned that shooting is a far better death for possums than traps or poison. They also learned guns are tools and participated in a fundraising event to raise money for a new shade structure for their school.
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