A big congratulations to 3-year old Dakota Alexander, the lucky winner of the PHIC’s Chocolate mining and sunflower challenge at the recent Welcome to Hedland event in Port Hedland.
Dakota, along with her older twin brothers, Shaquille and Elijah (6) gave it their all in a well-executed plan to find the chocolate eggs and replenish the environment (a small sand pit) to take home the prize of a CAT Excavator.
Dakota’s mum Tiana said that she loved mermaids and Barbies but also likes to play with her big brother’s toys. Upon receiving the excavator, that was almost bigger than her, she declared that her brothers would not be playing with it! But try as she did, she was unable to carry it all by herself.
More than 100 children took part in this year’s competition making for a high energy stall and fun for children and parents alike.
The children got to show-off their mining skills throughout the evening on the hunt for chocolate eggs hidden in trays of red kinetic sand with a skewer. Many opted for the line grid drilling technique, while others went in boots and all with red dirt going in all directions. There were a couple of dads guilty of this approach also.
“Welcome to Hedland was a wonderful opportunity to meet face-to-face with members of the Port Hedland community, and it was great to see the children enjoying the competition,” PHIC CEO Kirsty Danby said.
“Dakota was confident from the outset that she would be the one to take home the prize, much to the dismay of her brothers.”
“She had a dedicated strategy, to drag the toothpick through the sand in lines and she worked to repair her sandpit to its original state.”
Kirsty said she thoroughly enjoyed attending the event and valued the opportunity to speak with the Port Hedland community to understand their needs and concerns.
“Congratulations to Dakota and all of those who took part.”
