Get ship shape: Besides a plethora of food, games and entertainment, this year`s Jamboree Days in Carpentersville will have a nautical twist to honor the 500th anniversary of Columbus` discovery of the New World.
Families, groups and individuals are invited to try their hand at building a ship that resembles the Nina, Pinta or Santa Maria, said Sue Shaw, special events co-chair for the 12th-annual festival, which is sponsored by Dundee Township`s Cardunal Area Chamber of Commerce and runs this Wednesday through Sunday in Carpenter Park.
Three cash prizes, $250, $100 and $50, will be awarded to the top three entries.
A regatta without the regalia of sorts, the entries don`t have to float, according to Shaw, they just have to look good. All entries must be portable and no longer than six feet or higher than seven feet including the mast. Judging will be Saturday, but all entries must be in by Thursday night. There is a $5 entry fee per ship. Call 426-8565 for official rules and entry form.
Not part of the contest, but certainly part of the fun is a 15-foot cardboard craft resembling the Santa Maria (sort of) build by chamber members. Made of refrigerator boxes and strategically placed duct tape, the ship is undecorated thus far. Shaw said the plan is to arm kids with paint and turn them loose on Saturday. Smocks and supplies will be provided.
”Hopefully, it will be real colorful by the end of the day,” she said.
”We`ll have every color there but brown.”
