With the end of Turkey Day and the beginning of the new year comes the beginning of chicken season here in Davis and we are even more egg-cited than usual! A newly formed Cluck Council will collaborate to create the Fourth Annual Tour de Cluck on Saturday, May 25, 2013. As Tour de Cluck founder Jake Clemens slips into her new role as Mother Hen Emeritus, she says event-goers shouldn’t notice the difference; “We have been planning for this transition since the first event in 2010. The immediate and overwhelming success put us on notice that we were on to something!”

In preparation for this inevitable shift in leadership, after the event in 2012, Clemens convened a Cluck Council comprised of community leaders who had already proven that they were neither averse to wearing one of the infamous Tour de Cluck chicken hats nor engaging in mad clucking in public! Continuing their support on the new Council are Bob Bowen, Public Relations Manager for the City of Davis; Alan Humason, Executive Director, Yolo County Visitors Bureau; Randii Macnear, Davis Farmers Market Manager; and Dorothy Peterson, Davis Farm to Fork. New to the team this year, also members of the Council, are Shelly Gilbride, Director of Development and Special Projects for the Davis Art Center; Dave “DK” Kemp, City of Davis Active Transportation Coordinator; and Neil Ruud from The Centaur Group. With this egg-cellent flock of fun-loving talent, the Tour de Cluck promises to continue the tradition of this crazy festival of fowl fun.

Neil Ruud brings a uniquely Tour de Cluck-style blend of enthusiasm, the perfect skill set, and the right kind of wackiness to his role as “Roostermeister”, responsible for coordinating the Council. Confirming that “the community leaders and their volunteers in each component know what’s best”, Ruud plans to continue the nationally recognized event as fans remember it. He continues, “The leaders of each element of the event are really owning their space-- taking charge.” Davis’s favorite chicken-centric celebration will continue all previous aspects of the event along with some top-secret, exciting additions. “As each element of the Tour has grown, prompting the addition of more partners, the increased resources really open up a lot of possibilities.”

To insure that you are kept abreast of all the latest Tour de Cluck news -- coop applications, auction art submissions, ticket sales and exciting new features -- sign-up for announcements and updates on the Tour de Cluck Times homepage.