Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

10th Annual Event Is Third Weekend In July

Mom and dad can have more fun than ever at the 10th Annual Chicken and Egg Festival, while the children are having a great time of their own.

This is because a new event has been added to the annual festival just for youngsters -- the "Chickie Pen." This area has been specifically designed for children's activities.

There will be games, contests and plenty of fun, along with many interesting prizes for the winners.

Hours for the Chickie Pen are 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. Saturday, July 19.

The events planned for the children include: Chicks pick up, where they find a duck in the pond to be redeemed for a prize; face painting, a favorite among children with local artists to paint special designs on them; string-a-necklace, where children will make a necklace or bracelet; Design-a-pet rock. In this event, children can pick their "pet" rock and paint their own creation onto it.

Then, there's the ring-a-monkey, ring toss game. There will also be a dart throw for prizes, along with a ping pong toss. Those who can toss a ping pong ball into a cup will win a prize.

This is followed by a fishing pond, where young anglers can try their hand at landing a prize winning fish.

There will also be a coloring contest for the children. Festival Chicken pictures will be colored by the youngsters, with ribbons being awarded to the age division winners. This contest will go throughout the Chickie Pen hours.

Then comes the best decorated egg contest. Children can decorate and design a hard-boiled egg at home, bring it to the contest and take a chance at winning $5. Entries in this contest should be turned in by 10 a.m. Saturday, July 19.

Before the Chickie Pen opens, a balloon lift off will happen at 9:30 a.m. Names and addresses of children will be put on the balloons. The first child to get a call from the person finding their balloon will win $5.

And, a traditional favorite will be back again -- the Golden Egg Hunt. This event has always attracted a large number of contestants. This could be because of the $100 prize given away to the lucky winner. Hunters need to gather at the festival stage in the park by 10 a.m. Saturday. At this time, the clues will be distributed and the hunt begins.

At 10:30 a.m. Saturday, it's Egg Toss Time. This gives trusting souls the chance to test their eye-hand coordination, along with the softness of their hands.

Turkey callers are being invited to this year's festival for a turkey calling contest. This event is slated for 11 a.m. Saturday at the stage. Cash prizes will be awarded to the top two finishers.

The afternoon kicks off the first annual Little Miss Hen and Little Mister Rooster Pageant. This competition will begin at 2 p.m. on the stage. children from birth to age seven for girls, and from birth to five for boys, can enter.

The 1997 festival will again showcase the talent in Prescott and Nevada County as individuals and groups perform.

The variety entertainment show will be held from 5:30 through 9:30 p.m. Friday, July 18. Those coming for the show need to bring their own lawn chairs.

Entertainers this year should include: Nevada County Sheriff Steve Otwell, 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.

For more information, or applications to the various contests, call the Prescott-Nevada County Chamber of Commerce at 870-887- 2101.