Turkey shoot a day of fun, food and prizes
Posted on Friday, September 26, 2008
GARFIELD - Turkeys will be the prize, not the targets, at this weekend's turkey shoot.
The 15 th annual NEBCO Turkey Shoot is set for 9 a.m. Saturday at Fire Station No. 1 and the Garfield Community Center on U. S. Highway 62 in Garfield.
The Northeast Benton County Volunteer Fire Department was founded in 1978 by about 10 men, said Fire Chief Rob Taylor, who has been chief since 2002. A lieutenant with the Rogers Fire Department, Taylor has been a NEBCO firefighter since 1984.
"As always, NEBCO is supported by the dues-paying members," Taylor said. "We don't have the luxury of being financed by a city. I've been involved in NEBCO for 25 years come this January. I live, breathe and bleed this place."
The turkey shoot, which began as a small fundraiser, has grown to become a fall festival with contests, games, auctions and a meal.
There is a BB-shooting contest for children, along with many children's games, including a dunking booth, a bounce house and face-painting.
There will be a gun raffle for a Savage Caliber 270. The drawing will be held Saturday; winners need not be present to win, but must be 18 years of age.
Four years ago, a rib cookoff was added. There are both live and silent auctions, with items donated by companies from around the area. A grandfather clock is one of the larger items to be auctioned.
The turkey shoot involves shooting at paper targets with a shotgun. The shooter of the pellet that lands closest to the center of the target wins a frozen turkey. There are 100 turkeys for prizes.
Jim Linstruth, in charge of the shooting contests, said there were 700 shooters last year, but that many people shoot more than once. There is also a poker shoot in which contestants shoot at a sheet of paper with a poker hand on the opposite side. The shooter with the best poker hand wins. There are also clay-pigeon and archery shoots. Tickets for the turkey shoot, poker shoot and archery shoot are $ 2. Tickets for the clay-pigeon shoot are $ 6.
Many people volunteer their time to prepare for the event and to work the day of the festival, Taylor said. "That's what makes this event. It wouldn't be successful without the people willing to work," he said. "This is the event a lot of people look forward to all year. It's where everyone comes to meet one another to visit and get together."
Volunteers will begin arriving about dawn, although events won't begin until 9 a.m. The shoot will begin at 9: 30 a.m. Lunch - served from 11: 30 a.m. until 2 p.m. - will include chicken, pork ribs, baked beans, coleslaw, dessert and a drink. Tickets are $ 7 for adults and $ 5 for children under 10. Children under 5 years of age may eat free.
Eighteen teams will compete in the rib cook-off. NEBCO provides the meat, and businesses are asked to sponsor teams.
NEBCO has five fire stations, 19 trucks and two boats. Its response area covers 84 square miles and stretches from Beaver Lake and Posey Mountain on the south to the Missouri border on the north, from Carroll County on the east to the Pea Ridge National Military Park on the west.
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