I love how a lot of the local churches put on a Wild game Feed. I’m reminded of this because I just attended a Wild game Feed put on by the Nazarene Church in Payette last Saturday.
There is no set “Perfect” format for a WGF. Run it however you want. But here’s some general guidelines if you need a jumpstart to get off the ground in your planning.
The wild game meal is obviously a big part of a Wild game Feed. it is fun to try everyone’s favorite dishes.
It will be a pot luck meal. A-J can bring a main dish and K-Z can bring salads and desserts.
The Church will provide the silver ware, plates, napkins, coffee, water and lemonade. A-J brings a wild game dish but if someone isn’t a hunter no biggee, bring a dessert or domestic meat.
I’ve been at a couple where they let their high school kids wait on tables and clean up and attendees leave tips to help the kids raise funds for a mission trip.
You’ll want to make it a fun event. There are a hundred options.
*Have music
*Raffle Table with outdoor items. This can raise money for your men’s ministry groups.
*Display tables. I’ve set them up where we had 4-5 display tables set-up before the event officially started. For instance, I had a local gunsmith-Jim Combe set up a table with a lot of old Winchesters and traps displayed.
And Jim Fox set up a table with recurves and long bows. And a table doing little knife sharpening demos. An air gun demo table set-up.
There was everything from rabbit to buffalo offered at this WGF.
This idea starts the event off with a bang
• I was at one once that had the SCI organization bring in their trailer of mounts for everyone to tour.
• Auction outdoor items
• Door drawings
• Outdoor picture contest. Attendees can display their pics on a table and people vote for the best one.
• Have people bring mounts to display which adds to the décor’.
• Could have a contest to decide who cooked the best wild game dish.
But then the biggest attraction will be the speaker. Usually someone local is used but I’ve been at one where they flew in a celebrity.
Either way, usually the speaker will put on some type of an interesting outdoor seminar. Then at the end of their talk the speaker will usually give their testimony. I always enjoy the speakers.
Raffle tables are always a fun part of WGF’s.
WGF’s are a great avenue to get your un churched friends to attend a Church event.
While they may never step a foot into a Church, if they hear that the speaker is an accomplished bear hunter and is going to be putting on a Bear Hunting Seminar, they might be inclined to go.
On a lessor scale, you could even have a WGF for the guys in your hunting camp at the end of the hunting season and have everyone’s families over for a relaxing evening. And if you hunt by yourself… I guess you can have your own WGF. Albeit it would be a very boring WGF.
Tom Claycomb is a hunting enthusiast and writes a bi-monthly column for Great Basin Sun.