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North Fork Loggers Jamboree

The Mid-Sierra Loggers Jamboree (also known as the North Fork Loggers Jamboree) is an annual lumberjack sports festival held in North Fork, California. Established in 1959, it showcases traditional logging skills and serves as a community fundraiser tied to the town’s Recreation Center. The 65th edition was staged July 5-6, 2025 at the North Fork Recreation Center.

History

Local loggers and volunteers launched the Jamboree in 1959; longtime residents recall early parades down Main Street and competitions on the grounds that later became the Recreation Center. In the late 1950s–early 1960s, the event and a related North Fork Festival were organized to support the newly formed North Fork Boosters Club and to help fund the Recreation Center. The Jamboree has continued on the weekend following the U.S. Independence Day weekend for over sixty years.

Format and activities

Competition spans two days: an Amateur/Pro-Am program on Saturday and a Professional program on Sunday. Pro-Am teams pair one experienced competitor with one amateur; most events are timed, with points determining winners. Sunday features the professional contests for the All-Around (Top Logger) title. The weekend program typically includes a Main Street parade, the Wood Chopper’s Ball (a Saturday night dance), and a Lions Club pancake breakfast, alongside food and craft vendors.

Events and competitions

The Jamboree showcases traditional logging skills, including:

  • Axe throw — contestants throw a double-bit axe at a wood round; a shaken beer can in the bullseye famously bursts on a perfect hit.
  • Choker setting — sprinting an obstacle course to rig a cable around a log.
  • Hand bucking (double-buck) — two-person crosscut sawing through an 18-inch log.
  • Stock power saw — precision cuts with an unmodified chainsaw, including a “pierce” to a marked line.
  • Springboard chop, hand chopping, tree felling, log birling, speed axe, Jack & Jill (mixed crosscut), and hot saw (high-power modified chainsaws).

Women compete in dedicated events (e.g. Ladies’ axe throw and Ladies’ power saw) and in co-ed contests; organizers and local media emphasize the event’s role in celebrating North Fork’s logging heritage.

Notable competitors

North Fork native Nate Hodges is a multiple-time All-Around (Top Logger) champion at the Jamboree—recorded with at least 11 by 2019—and later became the 2024 STIHL Timbersports Individual World Champion.

Cultural impact

Regional outlets describe the Jamboree as a “great event that celebrates North Fork’s heritage and what was the way of life here for so many years,” and a homecoming-style festival that preserves logging culture while engaging new generations of competitors and volunteers. Media and tourism notices regularly promote the event; in 2025 it was widely publicized as the **65th annual** jamboree at the Recreation Center.

See also

External links

References