Citrus Celebration Display

For the Citrus Celebration Display Contest, the produce department at Broulim's in Rigby decided to create a train.  The more planning that went into it, the more massive it became.  The final product was so big, the photographer had to blend two images together.  She did an awesome job.

Six cars, an engine, and a tunnel turned this display into a community favorite.  Enamored customers paused for a minute to take pictures and appreciate the detail that went into every aspect of the project.  Children were wanting rides on the Sunkist Express.  All I could do was enjoy the reactions of people as they enjoyed the spectacle.

The first part constructed was the Sunkist 12-pack tunnel.  The people at Pepsi did an amazing job of taking the idea to the next level.  Eleven pallets of 12-packs went into the construction of this beast.  The new grape Sunkist seemed to be a hit.  Half the "S" in the bottom picture were shopped immediately before this picture was taken.

We put together the caboose first because it was the easiest car to put together.  Thirty-five cases of oranges and we were done.
Each car is two pallets long.

Since the clementines are on sale and they have been one of our better movers, I paired them with the minneolas hoping to generate more interest and sales of the item.  Only time will tell if the move will pan out, but initial observations are providing me with some optimism for the future.

This car was my favorite to assemble.  Eighteen cases of pummelos went into this beauty and it generated a lot of interest in the fruit.  We had a lot of "what is a pummelo" and "what do they taste like" questions, which allowed me to cut them open to sample.  It didn't hurt my feelings since the pummelo is one of my favorite fruits.
Is this the "World's Largest Pummelo Display"?  It has to be close.

Who doesn't like blood oranges and cara caras?
One of the problems that we faced early in the process was we knew we weren't going to have enough sign holders for each of the items in the train.  My solution was to put the signs on the sides of the cars. Having the signs made with graffiti font made the display that much more exciting and real to people.

These 10 lb winter boxes were a hot item.  Within two hours of when this picture was taken, the top layer had been sold.
The wheels were cut out of cardboard and were painted in chrome spray-paint.

No citrus display would be complete without oranges.

The engine was the most difficult piece to put together.  We had been saving boxes for three weeks but used them all in the cars, leaving us is a position where we were forced to be extremely creative to pull off this remarkable display.
The balloons mimicking puffs of smoke added a fun touch to the engine.

According to the most trusted website for accurate information, Wikipedia, the California Fruit Growers Exchange changed its name to Sunkist Growers, Inc. in 1908.  I thought this was a fun detail to add to the side of the engine.  The smokestack also had water and dry ice.  That was yet another fun detail that we incorporated into the engine to get kids that much more excited.


Here are more pictures that show the grandeur of the display.