Some 200 turkey enthusiasts will attend Friday’s Covington County Cutters & Strutters Wild Turkey Federation banquet.

Organizer Michael Page said that tickets are still on sale for the annual event. Approximately 150 tickets have already been sold.

“We will sell them up until the time of the banquet,” Page said.

Page said the banquet raises money for the National Wild Turkey Federation, along with community events it sponsors yearly.

“The main goal of the Turkey Federation is to better establish the turkey population and to help it build and grow,” he said. “In doing that, we want to get kids out in the outdoors.”

Page said for children who have never been hunting, the local chapter holds activities to encourage safety.

“We are actually going to hold a shooting clinic for the kids on the first Saturday in May out at the South Alabama Gun and Shooting Range,” he said.

Additionally, Page said the group is also active in “Wheelin’ Sportsmen,” a program that provides people with disabilities the opportunity to participate in outdoor activities.

“We try to put something back into the community,” he said. “Each year, we try to do a little more. My hopes are that we can maybe do a harvest Sunday the week before Thanksgiving. where people buy the green beans and canned ham and take to families who may not have a meal.”

Page said those who attend the banquet will be eligible for the wildlife seed program, in which the Federation sells roundup ready corn in the spring and wheat during the fall.

“This past fall, we sold wheat to the members for $5 a bag, and we think the corn will go for about $10 a bag,” he said.

The banquet will begin at 6 p.m. at the Kiwanis Community Center.

Tickets are $50 for singles; $70 for a couple or $600 for a gun table ticket, which includes a shotgun and two couples tickets. Sponsor tickets are $200 and sponsor tables are available for $500, which includes one sponsor ticket and five single tickets. Children 17 and under are $20 each.

For more information call Page at 488-4300 or John Lanier at 208-2002.