It’s that time of year again when the Sullivan County Longbeards Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) will host its annual Jakes Event at the Roscoe-Rockland Firemen’s Field. The field is located at 318 Gulf Road in Roscoe, NY.

Open to all youth age 17 and under, this amazing event is held rain or shine and has a huge list of outdoor activities for the young folks.

 It’s another chance for parents and guardians to get kids up off the couch, away from their cell phones and video games, and get them outside doing hands-on activities that are fun for all.

Here’s a partial list of the things that will be going on at the Jakes Event. There will be birdhouse building from kits, as well as other crafts. There will be birds of prey there and you can learn all about them from a master falconer. Fresh cider will be made.

There will be face painting as well as archery and fishing. There will be sand art and a pheasant activity. Everyone can enjoy some maple cotton candy, a local treat from our hardwood forests here in the Northeast.

The purpose of the Jakes Event is to help educate youth to be good stewards of the environment and to embrace conservation. I can’t think of a more noble cause and offer kudos to the Sullivan County Longbeards and the NWTF for their role.

I’ve been to the Jakes Event several times and can verify from first-hand experience that the kids all have a wonderful time. So mark your calendars for Saturday, September 20 from 10AM to 2PM and round up the young folks.  Give a call to (845) 292-4325 if you need more information.

The mission of the Sullivan County Longbeards is to “teach ethical sportsmanship practices in the conservation and care of wildlife.” Our local chapter of the NWTF has a long history of sponsoring youth events for decades and they do a great job of it. My hat goes off to them and I want to thank Butch and Donna Kortright and all of the other folks that help out with organizing everything for the Jakes Event.

I hope to see you all there. In fact, if I’m at the same post as last year, maybe I can even assist with helping you build a birdhouse for our feathered friends!

Let’s all enjoy the outdoors!

John S. Van Etten is the current president of the Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs of Sullivan County, Inc.