2016 Wild Game Feed

To the members of the Annual Wild Game Feed—Thank You!  You outdid yourself again this year and provided us with the biggest and best Wild Game Feed ever.  Every year I ask myself if you have reached the apex of perfection, but you always follow it up with something bigger and better.  Thank You!

And to everyone that attended—Thank You!  Without you the Annual Wild Game Feed would be nothing.  I’m always impressed that almost 1,500 men from all corners of society can get together for fun, food, and beer (not necessarily in that order) and not get into trouble.  This is one of the many reasons I return every year.  Thank You!

Well, it’s over for another year, and I’m already preparing for it to come back again.  Over the next twelve months I’ll pack and repack everything several times and enjoy thinking about the good times of the past while anticipating the good times of the future.  I know I’ve said this before, but I would like to do this more than once each year, but too much of a good thing is not a good thing.  So I’ll wait, and I’ll wait because those few short hours are worth the wait.  Next year I’ll see my friends again, and we’ll enjoy every moment of the Feed while forgetting all about the long year of waiting for it to arrive.

Checklist for 2016 Annual Wild Game Feed

Are you ready for some fun?  I know I am.  The Feed is coming up quickly—or slowly depending upon your point of view.  If you have been there before, it can’t come fast enough.  Right?  As for me, I started preparing as soon as I got home from last year’s Feed.

If you have read my page on AWGF FAQs (Annual Wild Game Feed Frequently Asked Questions), then you already understand the basic procedure is 1) buy a ticket, 2) don’t lose the ticket, 3) bring the ticket with you to the feed, and 4) have more fun than you can stand.  But I’ve been thinking the most asked question after “How can I get a ticket?” is the question “What do I bring?”

The answer to the question of what to bring is highly subjective.  As I’ve stated in the AWGF FAQs the simple answer is to bring yourself and your ticket, but honestly, few people stop with just those two essentials.  Also I hear every year at the Feed from guys who forgot to bring something they really wanted to bring.  Oh, I completely understand this one.  The first year I was there they ran out of toilet paper.  The next year I forgot to bring my own, and they ran out again.  Both times it cost me a t-shirt.  Enough said.

For the last ten or fifteen years, the afore-mentioned problem has not been a problem, but T.P. is on my checklist anyway.  In fact I started making my checklist before I attended the third time, and each year I tweak my list a little bit as needed.  Best thing I ever did.  I use this list to pack my car (half a dozen times or more during the year) before leaving for the Feed, and I use it again to make certain I’m bringing everything back home.  Actually I didn’t start doing the exit checklist until about the sixth or seventh year when I realized the following day I had forgotten my ice chest.  Fortunately the next year it was returned to me (it pays to put some form of identification on your possessions).

To this end I decided to share my checklist with you in hopes it will inspire you to make your own—and use it.  I’ve listed everything by groups in order of the importance to me; your order will probably be much different, as will be the items on your list.

David’s Annual Wild Game Feed Checklist

Group 1:  Me, Ticket, Chair(s), Cigars with Cutter and Lighter, Quail Eggs, Table(s), Shelter, Beer Mug, Hat, Sunscreen, Sunglasses, Sharp Pocket Knife, Bottle Opener, Toothpicks, Dental Floss, A Few Bandages, Light Jacket, Insulated Lunch Bag.

Group 2:  Toilet Paper, Paper Towels and/or Napkins, Heavy Duty Paper Plates, Disposable Table Cloths, Metal Knife/Fork/Spoon, Ice Chest and Ice, Cider, Cloth Hand Towels.

Group 3:  Waste Basket, Trash Bags, Bottled Water, 1 Gallon Zip-Type Plastic Bags, Sharpie, Inexpensive Plastic Containers with Lids, Small Plastic Cups or Bowls, Plastic Spoons.

Group 4:  Condiments, Cutting Board, Camera, Knife Sharpener, Plastic Pitcher, Hand Truck, Real Glasses for any Scotch (Bourbon, Rum, Rye, etc.) that comes my way (even though my doctor tells me to abstain).

Okay, Group 1) has an insulated lunch bag.  Why?  Because I walk with a cane, and the lunch bag becomes an extra hand for carrying food back to my shelter.  I started doing this out of necessity, but I quickly discovered I could also carry a lot more food than anyone else.  Less time in line, more time eating.

As you can see, my list is probably much different from your list.  Some of these things on my list are for giving out samples of the quail eggs, and some are for bringing a few things home with me.  Some things are just in the way unless I happen to need them, and then nothing else will do (such as T.P.).

There are still a few days remaining before the Feed, so you have plenty of time to make your list.  Take your time and think about each item you add to it.  Nothing says you have to arrive with more than yourself and your ticket, but a few extras can add to comfort.  If you still forget something, just add it to your list for next year.  And remember, it may be necessary to pack your vehicle a couple of times just to get the hang of it.  I’ve met more than one person who managed to bring everything they wanted only to find out they couldn’t get it all back into their car to go home. 

Just remember what’s really important here, bring yourself, your ticket, and have fun.  All else is optional.

See you at the Feed.