Top wild-game cooks will get cash prizes

The inaugural Wildwood Sportsman Festival will be Saturday at Wildwood Park, and coordinator Jeb Bell is seeking more participants.

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He needs more cooks for the wild-game cook-off.

Bell also is hoping for more vendors.

A 5K event that had been planned has been canceled.

Otherwise, the schedule is set.

Local businesses will be the focus of the festival. Vendors paid $100 to register for a spot in Wildwood's main parking lot.

Bell had hoped for 15 to 20 businesses and ended up with 14, including boat and RV dealerships and hunting and fishing stores.

The National Wild Turkey Federation, Georgia Ducks Unlimited, the National Rifle Association and the Army will be there.

The main attraction is expected to be the wild-game cook-off, dubbed the Fur, Fin and Feather Cook-Off, and Bell said there is still time for teams to register. Cash prizes will be given to winners.

Teams will prepare food in one or more of the categories.

The winning team of each category will get $200 and compete for the grand prize of $500.

Winners will be determined by a panel of judges. Participants also will receive feedback from the public, which will be allowed to sample the entries.

Bell said he hopes the festival becomes an annual event.

He said he expects the area's outdoorsmen to make the event a success.

"It will be hunting season here soon," Bell said.

"We want to publicize the park, the outdoors and give something to the community."

Columbia County recreation manager Charlie Beale said the park needed another annual event tied to the outdoors.

When Bell brought up the possibility of a sportsman's festival, Beale was onboard immediately.

"It's a great idea," Beale said. "We hope we can build on it and make it an annual event."