Wild beast feast raises $20K

By Carrie A. Mizell

Delicious food, fellowship with friends, and the chance to raise scholarship money for local high school seniors drew 1,300 people to the Gilchrist County FFA Alumni Arena on Friday night for the 17th Annual Wild Beast Feast.
Tiffany Turner, secretary for the Education Foundation of Gilchrist County, said on Tuesday morning that $20,000 in profit had been generated through this year’s Wild Beast Feast.

The tremendous success of this annual event was dampened however by vandalism that occurred at the arena sometime between Saturday night and Monday morning. According to Turner, someone attempted to steal one of the John Deere Gator ATVs used at the event.
“We now have to pay for the Gator to be fixed, which will cut into our profit,” Turner said. “It’s very sad. There was easily $1,000 in damages to the Gator. I am hoping that it does not exceed that.”
Considering the poor economy, Turner said the Education Foundation board is very pleased with the continued support the community has shown the annual event. Over the last three years the Beast Feast has continued to generate around $20,000 each year which goes toward scholarships for high school seniors at both Trenton and Bell schools, as well as mini-grants for Gilchrist County teachers.
Each year, the Wild Beast Feast and the Walk-a-thon serve as the Education Foundation’s primary fundraisers. In 2009, the Education Foundation gave out 121 scholarships for $1,000 each.

Bell High School students Reilee Moore and Jennie Smith assisted with
the serving of barbecue goat. Reilee is the secretary and Jennie is vice president
of Bell High School’s Student Government organization.

According to Turner, 128 high school seniors have submitted an application for a college scholarship this year.
This year’s Beast Feast drew a crowd of hungry supporters from throughout the tri-county area to a new location, the Gilchrist County FFA Alumni Arena, which is on US 129 between Trenton and Bell. The event was moved after Suzy DeChamplain, owner of Heaven’s Gate Farm, put her farm up for sale and moved to Ocala.
Though there was some talk in the community that the new location for the Beast Feast would not be suitable, Friday night proved otherwise.

Trenton FFA member Kyle Woods served frog legs at the Beast Feast.

Game cooks and volunteers from throughout the county worked tirelessly for several days leading up to the Beast Feast preparing a variety of game and fowl, including gator tail, frog legs, quail, mountain goat, water buffalo, mountain oysters, corn on the cob, swamp cabbage, authentic Louisiana gumbo and much more.
Several guns were raffled off. Two of the guns were donated by Alachua Pawn and Jewelry, and the Education Foundation purchased the others. Gun winners were Alvin Langford, Tommy and Michelle Parrish, Trip Lancaster, Fred Lindsey, Bob Zerbe, Wendell Roberts and Charles David Lindsey.
Bruce Sessler won a quilt that was donated by the Mad Hatters Quilting Group. The quilt was originally donated to the Gilchrist County Commission to go to a worthy cause. Commission Chairman D. Ray Harrison, Jr. suggested the Education Foundation, and the commissioners unanimously agreed.