There will be no pit spittin’ this year
SARGENT - The Chokecherry Festival or Jamboree in Sargent has been taking place every summer since its inception in 1989.
This year the Chokecherry Festival was scheduled for the last full weekend in June. However, due to COVID-19 and these unprecedented times, the Chokecherry Board and Alumni Board made the decision a few weeks ago to cancel this summer’s event.
Jackie Ropers stated that the main reason for the cancellation was due to the fact that the event is made possible with the help of many alumni and the event draws a lot of people in from out of town. It was going to be too hard to reschedule the event. The school is going to have graduation and prom. Weddings have been rescheduled. It was going to be almost impossible to find an open weekend or have the community center available.
Ropers said, “I can say with certainty that there will be no pit-spitting this year.”
With the absence of the festival this summer, I thought it would be nice to reminisce about how it all got started and came about. Who better to ask than Janie Weverka.
Weverka stated that back in 1989 she managed a restaurant called “Janie’s Place” and was the President of the Chamber of Commerce in Sargent at the time. The Chamber was looking for something to bring people to Sargent and get on the map. A six person committee was appointed, three women and three men, who were either business managers or owners.
The committee came up with the Chokecherry Jamboree because chokecherries grow abundant around the area. The committee of six were called the “Jambassadors.” The community got involved and everyone chipped in to make it a reality. It was initially set up so that the Festival was always the same dates, July 27-28 because that is when chokecherries are abundant.
Weverka stated that in 1990 they went to Governor Kay Orr and the Governor signed a proclamation making Sargent the “Chokecherry Capital” of Nebraska.
According to Weverka, the Festival doubled in attendance it’s second year. There were around 2,500 people that came from all over the country. People brought campers, filled the local hotels around the area and some stayed in homes.
Weverka talked about how the Festival and pit-spitting contest became nationally known. Radio stations in Boston, Chicago and SanDiego talked about it on the air. There were winners of their pit-spitting contest from other states like Michigan and other cities like Chicago.
Weverka had copies of articles from various newspapers across the country. The USA Today July 20, 1990 edition mentioned Sargent and residence puckering up for the 2nd Annual Chokecherry Jamboree pit spitting contest. The Arkansas Gazette July 22, 1990 edition mentioned Jerry Davenport of Sargent successfully defending his tittle with a spit of 30’10 1/2”. Sargent and the Chokecherry Jamboree were also mentioned in The Herald in Provo, Utah, the Meadville, Pa. newspaper and even the Pacific Stars and Stripes, a military newspaper for U.S. forces overseas in the Pacific area.
Over the years the Festival has changed. It is now combined with the fair and ran by the Sargent Fair Board. Local favorites like the pit-spitting contest and queen contest are still held. People can also still enjoy all the products made with chokecherries. It is an experience you should check out next year if you haven’t yet.