Annual Camp Wilson jamboree, BBQ kick off this weekend

(picture from previous Camp Wilson)

The 62nd annual Camp Wilson Boy Scout Jamboree and barbecue will be held this weekend in the mountains above Pine.

The annual event typically features more than 100 Boys Scouts from throughout the region gathering for three days of fun and skill competitions, the event concluding on Sunday with the barbecue provided by local volunteers. The public is invited to attend the barbecue. Funds raised from the feed are used to support a number of scholarships and other youth causes.

The scouts will arrive Friday night and march from the Elk Flats campground to Camp Wilson, carrying on their backs all the gear they will use over the weekend. After setting up their camps Friday night the scouts will spend Saturday in a series of skill and knowledge competitions.

On Sunday they will hold a Court of Honor and then attend the barbecue, which is provided to them free of charge by the volunteer group that puts the event on.

For the general public, the Sunday barbecue will be held from 1-3 p.m. The cost is $4 for adults and $2 for children and senior citizens.

Four raffles will be held during the barbecue for a $250 prepaid Visa card, a $150 gas card, a $250 card for Cabelas and a $250 Home Depot card. Raffle tickets will be sold for one dollar each or six for five dollars.

Money raised from the event provides scholarships for a student at Mountain Home High School and a student at Glenns Ferry High School. This year the scholarship amount has been raised from $500 to $750 each.

In addition, the barbecue committee donates $200 each to the senior celebration committees of the two schools, sponsors a scout to summer camp, and provides an award to the scouts judged to have won the competition Saturday for the best meal.

Organizers of the event note that no pets are allowed at the barbecue.

The barbecue committee anticipates preparing 925 pounds of round roast, slow cooked in a fire pit for nine hours prior to the barbecue. In addition, 1200-1300 pounds of potatoes will be prepared, to go along with the meal's baked beans and bread.