Localism Challenge, Day #22: Oviedo Kiwanis Charity Chicken Race
Nothing beats a good chicken race. Except a great chicken race, that is.
And a great chicken race is what you'll find in the Oviedo Kiwanis Charity Chicken Race.
The Kiwanis Club of Oviedo-Winter Springs' fourth annual Charity Chicken Race, which will be held this Saturday at 9 a.m. at the Oviedo Gym and Aquatics Center.
The event, made possible by the local chapter of global volunteer organization Kiwanis International, will last roughly three hours and will feature several competitions for children of all ages, including the traditional chicken parade.
The actual chicken race, however, consists of children hanging onto their decorated chickens and running.
Contestants can decorate a cutout of a chicken in one of eight categories: support-my-school chicken, science fiction chicken, chicken-in-motion, sports team chicken, diva chicken, Florida native chicken, chicken-in-a-book and holiday chicken.
My favorite category would have to be the sports team chicken category- as that's where the brightest of the kids will surely want to decorate their fowl in tribute to some great sports team such as...oh, the 13-time National Champion Alabama Crimson Tide. The decorated chickens will be judged- wth winners in each category getting a trophy and second place, third place and honorable mention finishers receiving ribbons.
Cutouts of the chickens can be purchased for $5 at The Town House Restaurant, Oviedo Vision Center and Artistic Expressions in Oviedo. Cutouts are available of roosters, hens and chicks. ***This is a good thing to know- 'cause the first few times I saw things about this event there were no photos or anything- and I thought they were gonna paint real chickens. Go figure- they're fake. Good thing, I guess- don't want the Oviedo Kiwanis Charity Chicken Race running "afowl" of the law!
There will be a chicken fling contest using catapults and rubber chickens. This event also had me worried- as it has in various places also been referred to as a "cluckin' chuckin' contest". Despite the obvious PETA protests that would accompany and event like this, anyone trying to say "cluckin' chuckin'" three times fast can surely attest to some potty-mouth words that may slip out....but I digress.
Event organizer Tanya McDonald said she chose the chicken as the race's mascot because of its historical connection with Oviedo. "You just can't go around Oviedo very far without seeing chickens," McDonald said. "Our feral chickens downtown, we have the emblem on the chamber of commerce and the entrance to the city. We're known for chickens, so it wouldn't make much sense to have the Oviedo warthog race." Well said, Tanya- well said, indeed.
Money made from this event will go to the local Kiwanis club's foundation, which donates money to various charities.
Kiwanis supports organizations such as Boys Town, March of Dimes and the Salvation Army. It also supports clubs at several middle schools and high schools in the area, and are very invested in the fight against juvenile diabetes.
Additionally, the club offers a scholarship to local high school students. "That's been really interesting because they'll [students] come back and tell us how they're doing in college," said Lisa Covelli, who is in charge of public relations and advertising for the club. "They, in turn, do pay it forward. They'll tell us that they joined Circle K International at college, or they joined this philanthropic organization, so it's just kind of neat how it grows."
Whether it is racing chickens or ringing bells at Christmastime, the club's purpose is stated by its motto: "changing the world one child at a time." "It's just a good feeling when you help children," Covelli said. "It's good that you can make their lives a little bit better, so that's kind of our mission." Changing the world one child at a time, and hopefully when they grow up they'll carry that on."
Localism Challenge, Day #22: Oviedo Kiwanis Charity Chicken Race- nothing funny about this even after all.
