Jun 11, 2009 10:04 am US/Eastern
Salute To Delmarva's Tough Old Bird Starts June 19
CENTERVILLE, Md. (AP) ―
The Delmarva Chicken Festival, a premiere celebration of the region's poultry industry, turns 60 this year as organizers mark the milestone in this Queen Anne's County town.
The festival was first held in 1948 as a backdrop to a national supermarket chain competition designed to develop a better meat-type chicken, according to a historical account by the Delmarva Poultry Industry Inc., the sponsor.
The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, or A&P, held the Chicken of Tomorrow Contest for poultry breeders at the University of Delaware Substation near Georgetown.
To entertain spectators, local businessmen planned a parade in downtown Georgetown and invited food vendors, and, in Easton, a Queen of Delmarva was named.
With A&P long gone, the local business group decided to continue the festival the next year to promote the region's fledgling chicken industry. But when Salisbury hosted the event in 1949, the name was changed to Delmarva Chicken Festival.
An exhibit hall at the Centreville fairgrounds will feature a display, "Poultry on Delmarva: 60 Years of Industry and Innovation." The display focuses not only on the history of the festival, but also on industry changes over the decades.
Festival highlights include the trademark, giant fry pan cooking up chickens since 1950, the chicken capers, a zone of fun-filled competition for children since 1975, a carnival, a car show, arts and crafts and business vendors, live entertainment and an array of family events.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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