Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Chicken and Egg Festival complete for 2006

Despite temperatures that reached near the 90 degree mark during the afternoon, there was a steady stream of people who gathered for the fun and food of the 16th annual Chicken and Egg Festival. The event was held on June 2 and 3 with the majority of the events taking place on Saturday.

It went very well, said Mary Godwin, executive director of the Prescott-Nevada County Chamber of Commerce. We did have some hot temperatures but there was a steady stream of people.

Godwin said that the tendency in some years has been for a crowd to put in an appearance at the event, then attendance would slack off for a short period of time before another group appeared. She said that the attendance had been much more steady for this years event.

This was the first year for the turbo chick race. Brad Crain served as master of ceremonies for the event, urging the contestants to wind up your chicks. Tysons provided 8-day-old chicks for the event.

Contestants released their chicks inside a wooden frame at Crains command, then urged their chicks toward the finish line. Some clapped, some stomped their feet and some even offered a nudge now and then. In the end, it was Tyler Hensley who won in the elimination tournament.

Other events carried on throughout the day included a balloon release, spoon race and a 5K run.

Tori Wren was the winner of the hula-hoop contest and Daniel McCoy won the jump rope contest. Jacob Clark and Justin Marcum won the egg toss contest.

The days events culminated in a pageant with Bingo to follow. Those participating in the pageant were - for the most part - excited to take the stage. There were several of the young ladies who did their turns, took time to pose on the stage, waved, bowed and threw kisses toward the audience.

Tatyana Flemons, 1, daughter of Steve Flemons and Tameka Beasley, gladly accepted her crown for the 1-year-old Little Miss Hen. Addison Dickerson, 5 months, daughter of Brian and Tami Dickerson won in the division for little girls up to 11 months.

Prescott-Nevada County Librarian Joyce Gibson said the casserole contest was a success with six entries. Naomi Butler won first place in that competition, Dianna Aguirre took second and Hyacinth Deon got the third place prize.