Courtney Sawdon gives Tom Parrish’s chicken a shove from the house during the chicken flying contest.  /  Buy this AWESOME photo from WENDY TORELLO/TIMES HERALD

I was charmed by this news article about a Chicken Flying Contest in Goodells, Michigan: “Gentle encouragement was often needed for the chicken to hop off the ladder, flutter its wings and float to the ground.”

And of course: “As an opener for the Chicken Flying Contest, children and adults each participated in respective “Chuck-A-Chicken” competitions. One by one, people threw a large stuffed chicken as far as they could across the entertainment tent, to the delight of spectators.”