Fellowship in the power park

Live music, great food, and face-painting are just some of what was found at the annual Chicken Jamboree hosted by the Men's Prayer Breakfast Group at Power Park in Thompson Falls.

The Jamboree is completely free to the community and works solely on voluntary donations from people who attend and sponsors. It is always held on the 3rd Saturday of July. Don Burrell, who helped the Jamboree run smoothly by cooking the chicken, said that the exact number of years is uncertain, but he thinks that the Chicken Jamboree has been going on for "close to thirty years." Burrell also commented that the "crowds stayed pretty consistent throughout the day and at some points even making them hustle to keep chicken on the tables." There was a total of 520 pounds of chicken cooked for the event.

Boys and girls from Wood Creek and Reflections Academies volunteered their time to help serve food and make the Jamboree run smoothly. Donations received go to assisting community schools, Helping Hands, and also aiding mission trips that members of the community are involved with.

The Men's Prayer Breakfast Group is made up of four local churches, but the Chicken Jamboree is a non-denominational event with the purpose of providing a fun day of events for all who attend. Charlie Denson and his band from the Gospel Mountain Assembly of God Church played music during the event to entertain the crowd. There were also performances from Bob Saint, Keith Shanklin, Bob Jackson, and even the Wood Creek Academy boys got on stage to perform a few songs.

The Chicken Jamboree would like to give a big thank you to all the people who came out to support the event as well as their great sponsors who made it possible.