Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Chicken And Egg Festival Set For July 17-18

Hi-ho boys and girls, its time for the 11th Annual Prescott-Nevada County Chamber of Commerce's Chicken and Egg Festival.

Again this year the festival will be packed with plenty for everyone to do. There will be games, tournaments, contests, pageantry and a lot of different goodies to sample while working on the waistline.

The festival will be held Friday and Saturday, July 17-18 at the Prescott City Park.

The highlight of this year's festival may well be the newest attraction a Pee Wee Rodeo sponsored by the Prescott FFA Alumni.

Boys and girls eight and under can try their hand at a number of rodeo-style events to be named later. The rodeo will be held at the fairgrounds Saturday, July 18, at 7 p.m.

For more information about the Pee Wee Rodeo, call Trish Milan at the Prescott Branch Bank of Delight, 887-2661.

Entry fees for the rodeo have not been set yet, and will be announced at a later date.

The beauty pageant for children will be held Saturday, July 18, at 2 p.m. Contestants will gather at the festival stage in the park to "strut their stuff" with State Rep. Sandra Rodgers acting as Mistress of Ceremonies.

This year's pageant will be somewhat different than last year's. First, there is a $12 entry fee and all participants must wear sun suits. These, according to Chamber manager Mary Godwin, are bubble suits or short sets.

No sun dresses, swimwear or hats will can be worn by the contestants.

Godwin said there will be three out-of-town judges on hand to pick the winners.

The girls division will be from 0-18 months; 18-months to three-years; 4-5-years-old and 6-7 years old. The boys category will be the same, except there is no 6-7 year old portion.

Prizes will be awarded to the top three finishers in each division, Godwin said.

Deadline for entering the pageant is July 11. Entry forms can be picked up at the Chamber office or, for more information, call Godwin at 887-2101.

And, of course, there will be lots of familiar activities going on at the festival.

Friday evening kicks things off with the annual variety show from 6:30-9:30 p.m. on the stage. The softball and tennis tournaments will be in their second days.

Both the men's and women's softball tournaments and the tennis tourney begin Thursday, July 16. This is because there are normally so many entries it takes three days to get all the games played and crown a champion.

The Coop Hoop 3-on-3 basketball tourney gets underway Friday afternoon and continues until a champ is crowned Saturday.

The festival kicks off early Saturday morning at 6:30 a.m. with the annual Kiwanis Club Omelet Breakfast at the pavilion.

Following breakfast will be the annual Chase the Chicken 5k run/walk at 8 a.m.

At 9 a.m., the younger runners will be on hand for the annual mile-long fun run.

Bragging rights for who's the strongest will be on the line when the weightlifting tourney kicks off at the pavilion. This event is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m.

Other events include a balloon liftoff for the younger patrons at 9:30 a.m. and the search for the golden egg at 10 a.m. There will be an egg tossing contest at 10:30, followed by a hula hoop competition at 11 a.m.

There will be plenty of events for the younger set, Godwin said, with the Chickie Pen Friday and Saturday, along with face painting, a coloring contest, and chick pick up in a pond, to name a few.

When visitors get hungry and thirsty, their needs will be met by the many vendors on hand, offering everything from hot dogs, hamburgers and nachos to ice cream, icees and soft drinks.

Godwin said the new festival T-shirts are in and can be picked up at the Chamber, or by calling Karen at the Bank of Prescott.

The shirts are $9 for adult small, medium and large; $10 for extra large, and $11 for double and triple extra large. All youth sizes are $9.

Once the current supply of shirts is exhausted, Godwin said, those interested in having one can order them through the Chamber.