"But on Thursday, the lily pads got their fill of the food mostly closely associated with the Jewish holiday. In fact, they were positively straining under the weight of cheesecakes from Junior's, the Downtown Brooklyn bakery operated by the same Jewish family since it opened in 1950. The food fest came during The Waterlily Weigh-off, a friendly competition organized by the Denver Botanic Gardens for the past three summers."
"Gardens participating in the weigh-off - and more than 40 around the word do - The Waterlily Weigh-off 2025 measure the strength of their lily pads by placing weights on a ginormous Victoria waterlily, a particularly large species that can reach up to 8 feet across. But instead of using simple weights to test the strength of these plants, many competitors - who enter the contest via a social media-friendly video submission - use items that show off local flair and flavor."
"Last year, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden used straightforward weights. This year, it opted for a more homegrown approach. "We knew our Victoria 'Longwood Hybrid' wasn't as large as some other gardens' plants, so we wanted to put a creative Brooklyn twist on our entry to stand out from the competition," the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens said in a statement. "We reached out to Junior's and they were happy to provide their iconic cheesecakes to be used as our weights. We're thrilled with our tasty result.""
The Waterlily Weigh-off measures the load-bearing strength of Victoria waterlilies by placing weights on their giant lily pads. More than 40 gardens worldwide participate by submitting social-media-friendly video entries that often use locally themed items instead of plain weights. Examples include Birmingham's 11 bottles of gin and seven bricks totaling 75.4 pounds, and Como Park Zoo's 'Paula Bunyan' holding 71.51 pounds with a Vikings football and a tater tot hot dish. Brooklyn Botanic Garden entered a smaller Victoria 'Longwood Hybrid' and chose to use Junior's iconic cheesecakes as a creative, borough-specific set of weights.
Read at Jewish Telegraphic Agency
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