Illini Jamboree 2003

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I went to the great weekend Jamboree! It was great. Prairielands Council is planning another one next year. Details below:

 

Last September, Prairielands Council in east central Illinois, hosted the inaugural "Illini Jamboree" with nearly 4,000 scouts camping and 5,000 Scouts attending the football game, from across the state of Illinois enjoying a great weekend full of camping, native American dancing, tours of the Chanute Aerospace Museum and the Illinois-Arkansas State football game, featuring the 200 member Scout color guard in front of a national television audience on ESPN! A weekend full of football, camping, museum tours, live bands and entertainment! This event was our council's first attempt at a large scale camping event and it was a huge achievement! So huge in fact, that we are doing it again in 2003!

 

Thanks to all of you that attended in 2002 and made the event such a success!

 

Pre-announcement buzz and commitment from additional Councils has led us to believe that we will double the number of Scouts that will be camping with us in 2003. We are getting out-of-state Councils contacting us for information and the Jamboree is being promoted as a Regional event. This certainly will be the largest gathering of scouts in the Midwest, perhaps the largest in the Nation that occurs in 2003, so think about joining us for a great time.

 

Prairielands Council, BSA and the Division of Intercollegiate Athletics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign invite your troop to participate in this 3-day event.

 

"Illini Jamboree 2003"

Friday-Sunday, September 5-7, 2003

Former Chanute Air Force Base, Rantoul, Illinois

 

The Illini-Jambo committee incorporated the suggestions for improvement that campers made into our plans for next year, as well as coming up with a few of our own.

 

* Additional camping areas - with water, garbage pickup and administration help at each sub-camp

* Swimming Pool and Water Slide Park

* Chanute Aerospace Museum Tours

* Sky Divers (weather permitting!)

* Tours of Hardy's Reindeer Ranch for all Scouts

* Shower facilities

* Indoor restrooms

* Additional vendors on-site; Wal-mart and more food vendors.

* Exciting Entertainment, including live bands and DJ music

* Illinois vs. Illinois State football game at Memorial Stadium

* Scout Color Guard performing the national anthem with the Marching Illini

* Bus transportation to and from the Illinois football game

* Illini Street Fest activities including interactive games, face painting and live music

* More post-game activities for scouts to do at the camp area.

* Sunday morning inter-faith religious service

* Large indoor hangar provided for meeting space for leader cracker barrel and as inclement weather location for entertainment

* Unlimited use of pre-lined soccer, football and softball fields (all will be lighted and are located next to the pool)

* Additional support from the City of Rantoul including, creating a complete map of campsites that can be sent to campers, improved signage, traffic and parking support, garbage collection, on-site security from Rantoul Police, EMT and ambulance service from Rantoul Fire Department City of Rantoul link

 

All for just $25 per camper!

 

Please, help to spread the word so troops will be able to add this event to their plans for next year.

 

Call Prairielands Council at (217) 356-7291 or go online at Illini Jamboree Link for general answers to your questions. Registration will start soon. Preferred camping spots will be assigned to early registrations.

 

Email me for specific concerns at jonathan.h.hall@att.net

 

Thanks and hope to see you there!

 

Jonathan Hall

Illini District Camping Promotions Chairman

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Are Jamborees for Boy Scouts only? Or, are Webelos old enough to participate?

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When our troop went this past fall we brought 2nd year webelos with us. A troop had to sponsor the webelos. Best thing to do is call Prairielands Council at (217) 356-7291.

[purcelce]

Below is some more info on the Illini Jamboree 2003

 

 

Illini Jamboree 2003!

Prairielands Council, BSA

 

and the

 

Division of Intercollegiate Athletics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

 

announce that Illini Jamboree is a GO for 2003!

 

Over 3500 campers participated in "Illini Jamboree 2002," hosted by

Prairielands Council. Boy Scout troops enjoyed a weekend of camping on the

former Chanute Air Force Base and a convincing win by the

University of Illinois football team over Arkansas State.

Boy Scouts joined both football teams on-field

honoring America during the national anthem,

with great coverage by ESPN-Plus.

 

For 2003, the dates have been set - September 5-7 at

the former Chanute AFB, Rantoul, Illinois. The football game will be

University of Illinois vs. Illinois State University.

 

Get the date on your calendar now and check back for

registration information early in 2003.

 

If you wish to give feedback/comments on Illini Jamboree 2002, or have

questions about Illini Jamboree 2003 contact:

illinijamboree@yahoo.com