The annual Great Geauga County Fair Rooster Crowing Contest operates under a fairly straightforward premise — the rooster with the most crows at the end of 15 minutes is named the winner.
The annual Great Geauga County Fair Rooster Crowing Contest operates under a fairly straightforward premise — the rooster with the most crows at the end of 15 minutes is named the winner.
But Geauga County Prosecutor Jim Flaiz wanted to make sure the rules of the contest, held the afternoon of Sep. 4, were clear to all participants.
For a crow to count, it must be at least three syllables, Flaiz said.
“Although, I heard some quality two-syllable crows earlier, so ‘rrrrrn,’ a groan, is not gonna cut it, okay?” he said. “It would have to be, like, a ‘hur-URRRN,’ like a two-syllable, or a ‘hur-URR-URR,’ okay? That would count.”
The fair record of 49 crows is held by Chatterbox, owned by Justin Glinski, who out-crowed all others way back in 2012.
On Sunday, when the blankets came off the assembled rooster cages, the audience was greeted with silence.
“I think they’re a little disoriented,” Flaiz said.
He reminded contestants the winner receives a cash prize, a trophy, “and apparently some pretty big bragging rights.”
Awards for the contest are set at $15 for first place, $10 for second and $5 for third. Each contestant receives $1 for entering their bird, and the winning bird is awarded an extra $5 if he can out-crow Chatterbox’s 49-crow record.
Eventually, the crows started rolling in, but none were fated to topple the 10-year champ.
Flaiz stopped to talk to Wyatt, the owner of a rooster named Russell Crow. The rooster did not compete in any other competitions this year, Wyatt said.
“This is it? All for this, huh? One crow so far,” Flaiz said, reading off the crow counter’s tally sheet.
At that moment, Russell Crow crowed.
“Oh,” Flaiz exclaimed. “That’s two!”
In the end, one rooster crowed supreme. Blue Bandit, owned by Breanna Glinski, outdid his competitors with 29 crows.
David Parker, who sits on the senior fair board of directors, was on hand to deliver the trophy to Glinski and her prize rooster.
“He did a good job,” she said.
