Vinita
Area Chamber of Commerce
P.O. Box
882 Vinita, OK 74301
Always the 2nd Week of September
FAMOUS PEOPLE
INVITED JUDGE CALF FRY FESTIVAL
Her Royal Highness
Queen Elizabeth II of England headed the list of suggested judges for the
World's Largest Fry Festival and Cook-Off in Vinita, OK last year.
Who will it be this year? This is part of the annual rituals surrounding
Vinita's celebration of it's agricultural heritage. Annually, the
local organizers invite the famous and infamous to this small town in Northeastern
Oklahoma and, annually, they don't show up.
But maybe
that’s changing. With the festival going into its 19th year, it’s
gained quite a bit of notariety. Some people now call and request
to be a judge, such as Oklahoma State Attorney General Drew Edmondson.
The Men’s Journal Magazine (Sept.. 1998 issue) did story on fun events
around the country and the Calf Fry Festival was listed as the event for
Oklahoma, stating calf fries were Oklahoma’s version of Viagra.
"We started
inviting famous and infamous judges a few years ago and we've had a lot
of fun, inviting celebrities and well-known people to come judge our Calf
Fry Cook-Off," said Vinita Area Chamber of Commerce Director Elizabeth
Nottingham. "The biggest part of the fun has been finding a tasteful
way to explain what calf fries are and convincing them this isn't a joke."
Among the
list of celebrity no-shows are the names of Jay Leno, David Letterman,
whose offices called to check the event out, and Oprah Winfrey, whose staff
to didn't believe the event was real and then politiely declined on the
spot. Rejection by policitcal notables is certainly bipartisan, President
Clinton and Vice-President Al Gore both sent their regrets due to other
commitments, but Bob Dole, Newt Gingrich, and Rush Limbaugh simply ignored
their invitations.
“Those
who have accepted our invitation to participate in this celebration of
cowboy culture in the past include President Clinton’s step father, Miss
Oklahoma, radio personalities and various elected officials. Although
many of invitations to judge are turned down or ignored, we are hoping
that after repeated requests some nationally famous people will decide
that we aren’t giving up and will agree to be a judge” said Ms. Nottingham
This year,
the Vinita Chamber is inviting the public to help find potential judges.
Essentially, if you can find their address the organizers will invite them
to be a judge. If they decline, they'll added to the list of illustrious
decliners. If they accept, you can be their host during the visit.
The only
rule is that the nominee be someone very well known nationally, internationally,
or at least regionally . Call or mail in nominees and addresses to
the Vinita Area Chamber of Commerce, P.O. Box 882, Vinita, Ok 74301 and
(918) 256-7133.
