King Turkey Day
Where else can you find race teams herding their star “athletes” – wild racing turkeys – down main street? The Great Gobbler Gallop is part of the fall festival, going on its 69th year in Worthington, Minnesota. This year’s King Turkey Day Celebration will be on Saturday, September 19, 2009 (Turkey Day always falls on the second Saturday after Labor Day).
King Turkey Day starts with a free pancake breakfast, a tradition started in 1939. Turkey Day volunteers serve pancakes, sausage, juice and coffee from 9 a.m. to noon. The Great Gobbler Gallop kicks off at 1:30 p.m., followed by a parade. Vendors sell candy and other food, beer and other beverages. (What there doesn’t seem to be…is a whole lot of eatin’ turkey! Who knew?)
The “second leg” of the Great Gobbler Gallop is held at the Cuero (Texas) Turkey Fest on October 10, 2009. (Since 1973, the two towns have competed annually to claim bragging rights for the fastest turkey runner.)
