Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Chicken & Egg Festival This Weekend

It's cackleberry time in Nevada County.

This weekend, Prescott will be invaded by tourists as the 10th Annual Chicken and Egg Festival kicks off.

The fun begins Friday, July 18, with plenty of athletic competition, entertainment and a trough full to eat.

Concession stands will open at 6:30 p.m. Friday at the park pavilion, while entertainment begins on the park stage, lasting until 9:30 that night.

Entertainers this year should keep visitors more than happy as Nevada County Sheriff Steve Otwell will take center stage, along with Misti Holly, Rachel Dougan, Johnna Bryan, Stacy and Jennifer Hildebrand, the Burke Quartet, Mattie Tidwell's Gospel Group, the Crossroads Singers, the Wiley Gospel Group, Third Generation Gospel Group and the Bo Colbert Youth Group.

And, during this time, the Chicks with Sticks and Fowl Ball softball tournaments will be underway, as will the Coop Hoop 3-on-3 basketball tourney and Serving Something Eggstra tennis tourney. Each of these contests begins Thursday.

But the real fun gets underway early Saturday. At 6:30 a.m. early risers can visit the pavilion for the Kiwanis Club Omelet Breakfast. Here visitors can stoke up for the busy day they have ahead of them.

At 8 a.m., it's time for the Chase the Chicken 5K run/walk. This race of only for the hearty and hale as the course is a difficult one.

The 5K is followed at 9 a.m. by the children's Chicken Chaser fun run.

There will be plenty of booths filled with arts and crafts, and the concession stands will have enough cold drinks to help beat the heat.

This year, mom and dad will be able to have even more fun as there have been special events planned just for the youngsters.

The Chickie Pen features games and contests and prizes for the contestants.

The hours for the Chickie Pen are 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. Saturday. Events planned for the pen are: Chicks pick up, where the competitors battle to find ducks in the pond. These ducks can be redeemed for prizes. From there, the fun goes to face painting, one of the more popular events at any festival. Local artists will paint special designs on children.

There will also be the string-a-necklace event, where youngsters can make necklaces for themselves or their parents. For those who don't want jewelry, they can design-a-pet rock. Youngsters will be given the opportunity to dig through the rocks brought to the pen for their newest "pets" and paint designs on them.

Other events include the ring-a-monkey ring toss game, and a dart throw. Prizes will be awarded to the winners of these games. Additionally, there a ping pong ball toss game has been added. Children can try their hand at tossing a ping pong ball into a cup for a prize.

But this isn't all. There will be a fishing pond where young anglers can try their hand at landing a prize winning fish.

A coloring contest is also on tap for the Chickie Pen contestants. This event will go on throughout the pen hours.

Children can also participate in the best decorated egg contest. They are asked to design their eggs at home and bring them to the festival. The winner will take home $5. Entries in the egg contest must be turned in by 10 a.m. Saturday.

A balloon lift-off will get the fun underway at 9:30 a.m., with youngsters putting their names and addresses on the balloons. The first child to get a call from someone finding the balloon will win $5.

Ah, the best is always saved for when everyone will be handy. The Golden Egg Hunt, with its $100 prize, traditionally attracts a large contingency. Hunters need to gather at the festival stage by 10 a.m. when the clues are distributed.

At 10:30 a.m., it's Egg Toss time. The hardy souls in this event need to have good eye-hand coordination, along with soft hands and a strong arm.

Turkey callers haven't been forgotten either. This year's festival includes a turkey calling contest at 11 a.m. Cash prizes are on the line for the top two turkeys.

Another new event for this year's festival is the Little Miss Hen and Little Mister Rooster pageants. The competition begins at 2 p.m. on the stage. Children from birth to age seven for girls and birth to age five for boys can enter.

Still, this isn't all there will be at the festival. A weightlifting contest is also on tap.

For car buffs, an antique car show will begin at 9 a.m. Saturday.

With so much to do during the 10th Annual Chicken and Egg Festival, there's no reason for anyone in Southwest Arkansas to be bored this weekend.