Free Falling Just Like Turkey

One of the weirdest things that we heard about when we moved to Arkansas was the annual Turkey Trot in Yellville. They drop live turkeys from an airplane. One year, they were pursuaded to use frozen turkeys because it was believed to be cruel to the turkeys. Well, someone got killed trying to catch the frozen projectory. More reading for your pleasure:

Each year in October Yellville attracts over 30,000 visitors to its Annual Turkey Trot, a two-day extravaganza of everything about the gobbler: lip sync contests, beauty contests, turkey shooting competitions (run, Tom, RUN!), Turkey Trot races, turkey dinners, turkey artisan crafts (get your handcrafted turkey feather dusters here) and live entertainment keep Yellville hopping for 48 hours.

A festival highlight is always the Miss Drumstick contest, where contestants are judged on their gams only, with face and body obscured -- perhaps one of the most ethical Miss Drumstick contests in the country. The Trot always culminates with a street dance in the Square, where everyone gets down and boogies… that is, everyone who isn't napping in a tryptophan-induced haze.

The Turkey Drop must be mentioned; not a Trot- nor Yellville town-sanctioned event, but a popular tradition nevertheless. A (very, very) low flying plane drops live turkeys into the welcoming arms of a waiting crowd. Note that domestic turkeys don't fly, wild turkeys can a teeny bit … neither fare too well when tossed from a plane: think of a 22-lb., warm-blooded, feathered missile hurtling toward the ground. It must be an Arkansas thing. -- Lisa Galloway (Photo: Ray Sizemore)