The Epic Outdoor Food Fest In Kentucky You Simply Cannot Miss
By Andrea Limke|Published August 28, 2017
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Andrea Limke
Author
A Cincinnati native who has lived in Kentucky for over 10 years, Andrea's heart belongs both in the Queen City and the Bluegrass State. After earning an education degree and working in that field for a number of years, Andrea began to pursue her passion for writing over 6 years ago. Since then she has written for a number of print and online publications, as well as published a children's book.
Kentucky is a festive state with countless festivals and parades that celebrate everything from major holidays to iconic food. Kentucky also loves its fried chicken. In fact, we’re known as its birthplace, so it only makes sense that an epic food festival exists that celebrates the heritage of this classic Kentucky dish. The World Chicken Festival is coming up and it’s nothing like you’ve ever seen before. Whether you like fried chicken or not, you’re not going to want to miss this one-of-a-kind Kentucky event.
In the 1940s, Colonel Harland Sanders started what would become one of the most popular restaurants in the entire world.
Of course, he opened the first Kentucky Fried Chicken in Corbin, located in Laurel County. The Colonel's nephew, Lee Cummings, also started Lee's Famous Recipe Chicken in Laurel County in 1952. It's this legendary heritage that is celebrated each year in London at the World Chicken Festival.
The festival is always held the last full weekend of September in beautiful downtown London.
This year, the festival takes place September 21 - 24 and includes a variety of entertainment, attractions and of course, fried chicken. One of the highlights of the weekend is the parade on Saturday at 10 a.m., which travels right through the festival.
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Everyone gathers to celebrate one Kentucky tradition - fried chicken.
At the festival, the chicken is fried in the World's Largest Stainless Steel Skillet. The skillet requires 300 gallons of cooking oil to fill and can cook 600 quarters of chicken at one time. It's run by volunteers and is quite the sight to see!
Along the midway you'll find rides that will entertain and thrill all ages. The nightly concerts are also a huge draw and include multiple stages and a different act each night. Be sure to check out the website, linked below, for a full line up of this year's entertainment.
The World Chicken Festival in London is one of the largest festivals in the Bluegrass State.
It celebrates the tasty history of fried chicken in Laurel County and Kentucky in general. It's four days of epic food festival fun and a great excuse to visit a beautiful area of our state and enjoy some of our classic fried chicken.
Fried chicken tastes best in Kentucky and we celebrate that fact in London every September. Have you visited this large food festival? Share your experience with us in the comments!
For more information on the upcoming Festival, check out its website here.
And for the best spots to enjoy fried chicken throughout Kentucky, check out our Fried Chicken Bucket List here.
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