Big Top Fun watching the Commissioner, Mayor, and Sheriff getting soaked at the Chamber Picnic

The Big Top Picnic, sponsored by Jasper Banking Company, was one amusement after the other for the over 250 attendees, whether they chose to participate or sit back and watch. The annual picnic, in lieu of the Chamber of Commerce monthly membership breakfast, is a free event for members and their families to enjoy playing, socializing, and eating hot dogs with all the toppings. The Small Business of the Month was also awarded to R & R Body Shop.

Clowns, balloons, and cotton candy everywhere did reinforce the Circus Theme. The big hit of the day was the Dunking Booth that the Commissioner, Sheriff, and Mayor each had to endure for thirty minutes while people paid two dollars for three balls to dunk them in the cold water. The Commissioner took the first time slot, and by the time it was the Mayor's turn, most had exhausted all their funds. Even so, they all went down many times by those that cheated and hit the target themselves.

Each year, the Chamber organizes unique activities for the willing participants, and they most likely will walk away not as clean as they started. Mike King won the Hot Dog eating contest, which was timed to see who could eat three hotdogs the fastest. An old favorite is musical chairs, but there was a twist for the last few standing because one of the remaining chairs had shaving cream to sit in. The quest to win did prove to be greater than the possibility of ruining their clothes. All ages participated in the team relay whose object was to one by one put glue on their nose and run to a bowl of cotton balls and get one to adhere to their nose.