DARDANELLE — The 70th annual Mount Nebo Chicken Fry on Saturday is returning to its original location on the mountain for the first time in years, said Stacey Daughtrey, new executive director of the Dardanelle Area Chamber of Commerce.
She just hopes people aren’t too chicken to make the drive.
Daughtrey said the move is a gamble. “It’s pretty scary; how many people are actually going to drive back up the mountain?” she said.
“Some people don’t like the drive up the mountain. It’s a pretty steep drive; it has nine switchback curves. It’s a little nerve-wracking,” she said. “I do laugh about it. Can you imagine cars back then?” she said, referring to the late 1940s.
However, Daughtrey said a shuttle will be provided. People can park at the rodeo arena at the base of the mountain and ride in a van up to Mount Nebo State Park, 16728 W. Arkansas 155.
The free-admission festival has been held on the Arkansas River in Dardanelle for about a decade, Daughtrey said. She said it was former executive director Tanya Hendrix’s idea to move the event back to Mount Nebo.
“That has drawn all kinds of interest and excitement,” Daughtrey said.
She said the day’s events will begin at 7 a.m. with a 10K run up the mountain, and it’s for experienced runners only. She said race director Michael Witt emphasized, “If you’re not in shape, don’t do it.” Registration will be at 6 a.m. The cost is $25.
Watermelon will be available after the run, and arts and crafts vendors will open their booths at 10 a.m.
Basketball contests are planned, and from 9-11 a.m., motorcycles will be on display with suicide prevention as the platform, Daughtrey said. She said Jeff Trammell of Dover will build a memorial wall to display names of people who have died by suicide. The entry fee is $10 for each bike, and winners will be announced at 2 p.m.
Chickens are the emphasis at the festival named in the poultry’s honor.
A chicken-calling contest will start at 10:30 a.m., and back this year by demand are the Little Miss Pullet and
Little Mr. Rooster contests, both scheduled for 11 a.m.
“That’s one of the things when I came in; I put some little surveys out there — ‘What do you want to see back? What do you miss that you did at Chicken Fry growing up that you want your kids to do?’” she said. “It’s a 70-year tradition in Dardanelle that we need to honor.”
A chicken scramble is planned, too, where kids try to catch a chicken “and take it home,” she said.
A log-sawing competition, sponsored by the U.S. Forestry Service, is scheduled for 10 a.m. The cost to enter is $5 per person, and proceeds will go to the Dardanelle High School Weightlifting Club.
At 11 a.m., people can watch or participate in a horseshoe-pitching contest, and a state champion is scheduled to show off his skills, Daughtrey said. Donations are requested for the after-prom party at Dardanelle High School.
The horseshoe pits are across from two cabins: one for the Pope County Democrats, one for the Pope County Republicans.
“It looks like a pretty good list of candidates who are going to be up there. That’s going to be exciting,” she said. “It used to be 5,000 or 6,000 people who went up this mountain for the chicken fry. If you were running for any political office, you were at the Mount Nebo Chicken Fry,” she said.
A “meat-duck-calling contest” is scheduled at noon. The prize isn’t chicken feed — it’s $1,000 cash, Daughtrey said. Sign-up is the day of the event, and the entry fee is $35.
Dardanelle Police Chief Montie Sims, president of the chamber board, said the duck-calling contest is being sponsored by Dunn Callin of Dardanelle. “We’re looking, hopefully, to draw in duck callers from all over the state,” Sims said.
Daughtrey said a Lovely Legs contest is scheduled for 5 p.m., “just kind of making fun of men’s legs — I know that sounds awful, but putting the men in the beauty pageant for once.”
Hundreds of pounds of fried chicken tenders and smoked chicken are consumed during the day, and live music will be played until 7 p.m. She said Dardanelle Mayor Carolyn McGee and a couple of other women have been cooking rice for the festival for years.
Chicken dinners are $6 for adults and $3.50 for children. The dinners include chicken, rice, coleslaw, bread, potato salad, baked beans and cookies.
She also said the historic Cornwell House on the mountain will host an arts show during the festival.
Daughtrey said she heard a politician comment that “when a town puts on a festival, it showcases how much people love the town,” and she agrees.
“People who live on Mount Nebo are so excited,” Daughtrey said. “They’re doing a job I should be doing. One guy is going town to town putting out flyers.”
Sims said he believes moving the festival to the mountain will be successful.
“We’d had a lot of people asking about that and showing interest in it, so we’re going to try it and see how it works,” he said.
Daughtrey said the event has plenty of activities for all ages, but there’s more to it.
“I hope people don’t want to be entertained the whole time. I hope they take a minute to sit back and look at the scenery and how beautiful the mountain is,” she said. “I do know times have changed, but it’s just beautiful, and that has not changed. The scenery, the overlook, the sunset point, sunrise point — if you’ve never been up there, it’s just breathtaking.”
Daughtrey said it’s definitely worth the drive.
Senior writer Tammy Keith can be reached at (501) 327-0370 or tkeith@arkansasonline.com.