Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Banquet, Festival To Be Combined

BY C. HARLEN SANDERS

There will be some major changes this year for two annual events in Prescott.

According to officials with the Prescott-Nevada County Chamber of Commerce, the Chamber Banquet is being combined with the annual Chicken and Egg Festival.

To kick off this inaugural combination, the Chamber is instituting some interesting changes in both, making them theme events.

Tyson Foods and Hudson Foods have been contacted and agreed to furnish the meal for the banquet, which will be entirely chicken based.

The dinner will start off with a chicken salad. This will be followed by a bowl of steaming chicken soup, different varieties will be offered, so all can have their favorite.

From there, the main dish will consist of roast chicken, baked chicken, fried chicken, chicken nuggets, chicken tenders, Mexican chicken and hot wings, along with gizzards and livers. There will also be choices of chicken almandine, chicken ala king, chicken and dumplings, chicken pot pie, barbecue chicken, chicken strips, chicken bologna, chicken-based hot dogs, chicken fettucini, chicken alfredo, chicken alfresco, chicken jambalaya and chicken and rice pilaf.

Dessert for the meal will include chocolate chicken feet, chicken ice cream and chicken cheesecake.

The featured speaker for this year's banquet will be someone everyone knows -- the San Diego Chicken, who will perform some of his most famous stunts on stage.

This year will be the first year the banquet is not held at Prescott Middle School. Instead, it will take place at the Chicken Ranch.

Other banquet events will include, for the first time ever, a beauty contest of sorts. However, these events will be unlike any other beauty contest held.

The contestants will be judged in categories such as: best beak, Miss Drumstick, Miss Chicken wing and, the overall winner, Miss Chicken and Dressing.

And, to make things even more interesting, the banquet will not be a formal affair as it usually is. Instead, the Chamber has decided to make it a costume ball, with patrons dressed in the guise of their favorite poultry character. Some suggestions include: Daffy Duck, Foghorn Leghorn and Tom Turkey. However, turkey costumes are being reserved for area politicians.

Changes are also being made in the festival events. Those running in the annual 5k race will be required to do so in formal attire. But, female runners will be allowed to wear tuxedos if their evening gowns are too constricting to run in.

Teams in the softball tournament will have to find their way around the base paths while wearing chicken feet. This new rule, however, only applies to teams on offense.

There will be a Mr. Henpecked contest for the weightlifters in the crowd. These brawny roosters will be showing their pectorals while pumping boxes of frozen chicken instead of iron.

The annual Coop Hoop three-on-three basketball tourney will see some changes as well. This year, players will be using a hard-boiled egg instead of a basketball.

This means no dribbling, with the players relying solely on their passing attack. Additionally, they will be shooting these fowl balls at an Easter Basket instead of a regulation hoop.

No points will be given for baskets made if the shell is cracked. But, successful shots made from beyond the arc will count four points instead of the usual three.

The Chamber is also looking at sponsoring the first annual Chicken and Egg Banquet/Festival Golf Tournament at the Prescott Country Club.

Golfers would tee up with a regulation golf ball, but will have to change to a hard-boiled egg for their putts.

Other new chicken-related events have also been planned for this year's Banquet/Festival.

Things will get started with a "chunk the chicken" contest, where participants see how far they can hurl a whole thawed frier. None of these birds will weigh more than four pounds.

Then comes frozen chicken bowling, where the frosty fowl will be used to knock down drumsticks (pins).

This will be followed by the wishbone pitching contest, where contestants will see how well they can toss wishbones instead of horseshoes.

For the hungry athletes, there will be a chicken neck eating contest.

Something completely different will be a "boot the bird" competition, styled along the lines of the punt, pass and kick contest. Those involved in this event will showcase their talents with frozen fowls.

But, those participating in the "bounce the bird" event (volleyball style) will test their skills with a thawed frier on a regulation court.

The final contest of the day will be "bobbing for cackleberries" (eggs), where contestants do their best to bring an uncooked egg from a tub of water using only their mouths.

The Chamber board is excited about the changes for this year's events, saying combining the festival and banquet is a brilliant marketing plan.

With the combination of the festival and banquet comes a change in dates. This year's events will be held on June 31.

The First Annual Chicken and Egg Banquet/Festival is being sponsored by the Nevada County Picayune's April Fool's Committee.