Around 200 Sanders County residents came out to the Pennsylvania Power Park in Thompson Falls on Saturday to consume over 350 pounds of barbecue chicken during the annual Chicken Jamboree. The event was sponsored by the non-denominational Men’s Prayer Breakfast Group from Thompson Falls.

As residents spread blankets on the grass or set up lawn chairs, kids got their faces painted and breakfast group members tended to the daunting task of grilling up several hundred pounds of chicken. Hungry participants waited in line for the bountiful feast that has been provided free of charge for over 20 years.

In order to accommodate the massive amount of poultry needed to feed the throngs of people gathered in PPL Park, breakfast group members fired up two grills manned by three grill masters. One grill tended by president of the organization Don Burrell was at capacity while the other grill, nearly three times as large, handled the bulk of the chicken.

The larger of the two grills required two cooks to handle the buckets of specially seasoned meat continuously delivered to them. The two grill chefs, Bob Butte and Wally Gibe, carefully rotated and basted the chicken with the mouth-watering barbecue sauce.

As children played in the kiddie pools and received face paintings, the sounds of gospel and bluegrass music could be heard from the local musicians playing on the truck bed stage. Burrell said the event was a fun way to gather members of the community and raise funds for the Men’s Prayer Breakfast organization.

“We do this every year for the community,” said Burrell. “We tried a different seasoning for the chicken this year...People seem to be enjoying it.”

Burrell said the group eventually went through 350 pounds of chicken, 24 gallons of beans, 96 pounds of potato salad and 48 dozen rolls. Burrell said the event met the expectations of the breakfast group in terms of attendance.

“This is just a really good way for people to come out and get together and visit with neighbors,” said Burrell.