News & Features
June 2006

Moooanure Time!
Cow Chip Fest to raise funds for St. Mary's

Once again, the bovines will mooove into Brookfield Town Common for the 7th Annual Cow Chip Festival, 10 a.m.–4 p.m., Saturday, June 24. The event is organized as a fundraiser for St. Mary’s Church of Brookfield.

The Lincoln street church has been at various locations and is the oldest still active parish church building (circa 1717) used for catholic worship in North America, according to church history.

Year by year, worshipers have chipped away at expenses in the hope that someday St. Mary's Church will have a parish hall that accommodates its parishioners. The Cow Chip Festival is their biggest fundraiser of the year.

The plop-a-thon works like a lottery. Tickets for 2,000 two-foot-square plots are available at $10 a square. Two cows will be brought in to do the honors at 2 p.m. The portion of the common closest to Route 9 is reserved for the Cattle to roam, letting the chips fall where they may. Holders of squares where the first five land will win prizes ranging from $2,500 to $250.

The festival also includes a bake sale, a giant flea market filled with local treasures, an appetizing food concession stand, a cake walk, a large array of beautiful gift baskets, game booths for adults and children, and many craft booths. A silent auction and entertainment will be offered throughout the day.

To purchase tickets for the cow chip contest or for more information, call St. Mary's Parish at 508-867-3188.

Official Rules and Regulations
1. The Cow Chip Arena will consist of 2,000 grids, 2' x 2'.
2. Each ticket sold will be for a designated grid.
3. All grids will be identified from a random drawing held prior to the event.
4. Chips landing on any unsold grids will not win any prizes.
5. Two cows will enter the cow chip arena at the same time.
6. Each cow will be identified by name.
7. The first cow to drop a “chip” will be the first prize winner of
$2500. The second cow chip to fall (even if from the same cow) will be the second prize winner of $1000. The third cow chip to fall (even if from the same cow) will be the third prize winner of $500. The fourth and fifth will be $250 each.
8. Legal chip will have to be a minimum of 3" x 5".
9. No chip can win more than one prize.
10. If the chip falls on more than one grid, it will not be counted.
11. Decisions of the judges will be final and nonnegotiable.
12. The cows will be turned into the chip arena at 2 p.m. All sales of tickets will be terminated at this time. The cows will remain in the arena until all prizes are awarded, or until 4 p.m., whichever comes first. If all prizes are not awarded by 4 p.m., remaining tickets will be put into a random drawing, and all remaining prizes will be drawn.