To commemorate National Jerky Day today, Jack Link’s Beef Jerky played Mother Nature and showered the Great Plains of Nebraska with more than 1,000 bags of jerky as part of “Operation Sky Meat.” The Minong, Wis., company also gave away more than 33,000 bags of jerky to fans and charities across the country.

“We are never short on great ideas, and this one quickly rose to the top,” says Kevin Papacek, director of marketing, Jack Link’s Beef Jerky. “Operation Sky Meat—a mission to literally drop a massive amount of jerky from the sky—to applaud the unconventional, the unexpected and the untamed spirit of the brand was the first of many ways we celebrated National Jerky Day 2013.”

Onlookers had no need for an umbrella for this mighty, meaty rain, as Jack Link’s Beef Jerky packages with individual, mini parachutes dropped from a helicopter and floated to the ground at Omaha Champions Village in Omaha, home to national amateur baseball league tournaments (shown above). In partnership with Baseball Youth, hundreds of youth baseball players, spectators and fans gathered to witness the event, as well as to have a taste of jerky from more than 10,000 additional samples that were available throughout the two-day tournament.

While the center of the country experienced a surprise “jerky shower,” Americans from the East Coast to California’s Hollywood Hills also found creative ways to celebrate National Jerky Day.

In Los Angeles, snackers received free samples of Jack Link’s Beef Jerky at the iconic Hollywood & Highland Center and captured rare sightings of the elusive Sasquatch, known from Jack Link’s Messin’ with Sasquatch commercials. Sasquatch and the “Jack Link’s Wild Side” truck, armed with 20,000 samples, appeared at the famous landmark throughout the day.

Just down the street at El Capitan Entertainment Center, Jack Link’s Beef Jerky made a comedic debut on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! The segment airs tonight, June 12, at 10:35 p.m. (CST)/11:35 p.m. (EST) as part of National Jerky Day.

Jack Link’s also is providing about 3,000 bags of jerky to philanthropic organizations throughout the country during June to honor National Jerky Day. Organizations include the American Red Cross relief efforts in Oklahoma City, as well as YMCA summer programs in Atlanta; Detroit; Kansas City, Mo.; Mankato, Minn.; Milwaukee; Pittsburgh; and Seattle.

Jerky fans are also encouraged to share their love of jerky by Tweeting #jerkyday, following @JackLinks and visiting Facebook.com/JackLinksBeefJerky. Consumers will find everything they need to celebrate National Jerky Day on JackLinks.com, as well as a promotion code for online orders and videos and photos of today’s events.