Focus Feature: Rooster Crow is ‘Making a Splash’ this year

Published 12:00 am Thursday, June 22, 2023

Medford has the Pear Blossom Festival, Grants Pass has Boatnik and Rogue River has its own celebratory tradition in the annual Rooster Crow weekend festival.

“Ours is just a little bit more hometown,” said Noah Jarvie, secretary of the Rogue River Kiwanis Club, which hosts the event with the Rogue River Chamber of Commerce.

Residents of the small riverside town have been enjoying the event for decades — this year marks the 70th anniversary of Rooster Crow. The festival has attracted other groups planning their own activities alongside what the Rooster Crow Committee puts together, making for three days of “hometown” fun.

The festival will be held Friday through Sunday, June 23-25, in Rogue River.

The event kicks off at 5 p.m. Friday with the mayor appearing at the Rogue River Community Center’s monthly community dinner, followed by live entertainment at the Woodville Museum Gazebo

Every year, the Community Center changes the date for its monthly community meal to align with Rooster Crow, explained John Krawczyk, a member of the Kiwanis Club and Rooster Crow planning committee.

“Roosters aren’t allowed in Rogue River city limits by ordinance. So the mayor comes and reads kind of a proclamation, a pardon for them for the weekend,” he said.

Rogue River City Council votes annually to allow the roosters into the city for the festival, but it’s the mayor who comes out to make the formal announcement Friday night — akin to the annual White House Thanksgiving turkey pardoning in Washington, D.C.

The Rooster Crow festival officially begins with a parade at 10 a.m. Saturday, June 24, stretching down East Main Street in Rogue River. 

The Cal-Ore Hydroplane boat racers hold their qualification race Saturday following the parade, and their official boat race is Sunday, but they are not affiliated with the official Rooster Crow, Krawczyk said. The boat racing group enjoys holding the annual event in Rogue River during the weekend festival when there are plenty of spectators around.

Saturday afternoon holds the namesake event — the rooster crow. But over the years, the “human crow” has exceeded it in popularity, he said.

“We have people that are highly competitive in the adult category,” he said.

The audience gathers around the microphone at 2 p.m in Rooster Park. Anyone who wants to take their turn is welcome. Whoever is judged to be able to crow best like a rooster wins a cash prize and a trophy. But for many, it’s about the glory.

“A few years ago, before the COVID break, I ran into a gentleman who came for Rooster Crow. He was a winner the prior year, but he had moved to Texas and got a tattoo of a rooster on his arm. He flew back just to compete in Rooster Crow again but lost, Krawczyk said.

The kids category of the human crow is comparatively low stakes.

“It is absolutely hilarious. The kids totally go off. The Kiwanis Club sells soft-serve ice cream — that’s part of what we do to raise money. We give free ice cream to any kid willing to do the human crow, and there’s always this long line of kids,” Jarvie said.

After people have had their chance to crow, it’s time for the main event. Anyone with a rooster is welcome to bring the animal in a cage to the festival and compete, Krawczyk said. There’s a table to register human and fowl for the contest, free of charge. Competing is simple. At 2:30 p.m., owners bring their caged birds around. Whoever’s rooster crows the most in a half-hour wins, he said.

There are rules to prevent cheating, including no electronic devices in anybody’s pockets. Nothing that could be used to make noises to get the roosters going, Krawczyk explained. One audience member with no stake in the bird’s success watches each rooster, another precaution against cheating. Owners are allowed to stand nearby and use any natural means to get their fowl going.

“I’ve seen some people bring the roosters in their cage with it all covered, and then right before the crow, they pull the cover off,” Krawczyk said.

The Old Time Fiddlers will bring the day to a close from 4 to 5:30 p.m. at the gazebo in the newly minted Rooster Park.

“It’s actually not completely finished yet. The grass seed is still growing in. This year’s theme for the festival, ‘Making a Splash,’ is because the park has a splash pad for the kids,” Krawczyk said.

The park is located where the city has held the festival for decades, but over the past few years, the city has been steadily working to construct Rooster Park, a permanent home for the beloved festival.

“It was in the school district’s properties, but it was considered surplus. The city bought it and they got some grant funds. They partnered with the Army National Guard unit out of Washington — they do community service. They came two summers in a row and worked on it,” he said.

Sunday morning starts bright and early with a church service at Rooster Park, led by Pastor Roger Coale from the Pleasant Valley Cowboy Church. The service is also separate from the planning of the committee but “something we encourage and support,”Krawczyk said. 

Over 100 pre-1975 cars will be parked and on display on Pine Street throughout Sunday afternoon. In the Umpqua Bank Parking lot, there will be vendors offering crafts and food both Saturday and Sunday. Jarvie said vendors include a variety of merchants and local nonprofits. Food-wise, Jarvie advised to expect “fair food.” The gazebo at Rooster Park will also host live music from local musicians.

The event is not only a time for the city of Rogue River to come together and enjoy traditions of celebration, but it’s also a fundraiser for the Kiwanis Club.

“This is it; this is our main fundraiser. We use (the money raised) to make scholarships for high school students and support other youth programs,” Jarvie said.

For further information about the event see rogueriverchamber.com/rooster-crow-contest or call 541-660-6162.