Some friends and I have gotten quite a lot of chuckles this week after listening to many from outside the county talk about how surprised they were that the Siler City Chicken Festival on Saturday was such a success.
Well, simply put, it was Siler City and the surrounding communities, and exactly what they are.
So often mis-portrayed, Siler City and West Chatham are, and have been, a great community and areas of all races and ethnicities that get along, live in harmony, go to school together, go to church together, play sports together, hit the gym together, work together. It truly seemed to surprise some.
As was the fact that around 5,000 people attended, which made it reminiscent of the early Siler City Chicken Festivals.
The event itself was outstanding. Hats off to Mayor John Grimes, the Siler City Recreation Department — and all that were so involved to make it such a success.
First things first, David Martin, I told you I would give you a shout out, and here it is brother! Well done!
Now I know there was a lot of great food, but I could only eat so much, and thank God I chose the BBQ chicken cooked by David Martin and Gees Grove Church. Now I’ve been an owner of a catering business, and cooking BBQ chicken the right way is not as easy as it seems. But David and Gees Grove did it right, the best I’ve eaten in a LONG time. And Kendrick Williams down at Walmart reported to me that the fish was just as good, and I would assume the BBQ was a well, so it was a good day!
I also enjoyed hearing David Hart getting on the Ferris wheel, despite his fear of heights. After about what had to be at least an agonizing 30-minute wait, the Dave Man pulled it off. He, Barry Hayes and WNCA have always been first class in representing Chatham County and Saturday was certainly no exception; they were second to none.
Other great sights for me were all the youngsters playing games and having such a great time, and all the churches that showed up continuing to display that they are a backbone of such events and the county.
Of course, seeing a lot of guys that I’ve coached and that are like my kids such as Cliff Brooks, Derrick Lee, Brandon Blakely, Cody Duncan, and seeing them with their families and friends, was and is always a blessing.
Some pleasant surprises were all my classmates that I saw such as Sheila Joyce, Angela Brookbank, Barden Moody, Joe Fox, and Freddie Blakely. And I used maiden names, sorry girls (and sorry to you too, Sam Burgess, but we shared enough “p’ircles” (inside remains of a pizza circle) and barely made it to work at 1 p.m. at the Siler City Swimming Pool so many times one summer that you can forgive me this once). It really was great to see them, and I did hear Trent Thrift was also there.
As far as sports goes, the county baseball, soccer and softball teams will be in playoff mode this week, so be sure to support these locals athletes as Jordan-Matthews, Chatham Central, Chatham Charter and Northwood all qualified in baseball, Chatham Central, Northwood and Chatham Charter (first time ever — congrats Knights and Coach Jennifer Dameron) qualified in softball, and Woods Charter, Northwood and Jordan-Matthews made the states in girls soccer. It’s always a great time watching our Chatham County student-athletes show what they can do against teams from across the state! So good luck to all of them!
