The Delmarva Chicken Festival (Del-Mar-Va Chicken Festival, Delmarva Chicken Festival and National Chicken Cooking Contest) is an annual event sponsored by

Delmarva Poultry Industry, Inc The Delmarva Peninsula, or simply Delmarva, is a large peninsula and proposed state on the East Coast of the United States, occupied by the vast majority of the state of Delaware and parts of the Eastern Shore regions of Eastern Shore of Maryla ...

started in 1948 or 1949 with the purpose of publicizing the

Delmarva Peninsula The Delmarva Peninsula, or simply Delmarva, is a large peninsula and proposed state on the East Coast of the United States, occupied by the vast majority of the state of Delaware and parts of the Eastern Shore regions of Maryland and Virginia ...

with an emphasis on its arguably most important agricultural enterprise, raising chickens. The two-day event hosted in various locales on

Delmarva The Delmarva Peninsula, or simply Delmarva, is a large peninsula and proposed state on the East Coast of the United States, occupied by the vast majority of the state of Delaware and parts of the Eastern Shore regions of Maryland and Virginia. ...

features poultry equipment

trade show A trade fair, also known as trade show, trade exhibition, or trade exposition, is an exhibition organized so that companies in a specific industry can showcase and demonstrate their latest products and services, meet with industry partners and cu ...

s, the Miss Del-Mar-Va contest, the National Chicken Cooking Contest, a parade, arts and crafts, a carnival, entertainment, and food concessions.

Chicken The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adult m ...

is the featured food, but

french fries French fries (North American English), chips (British English), finger chips ( Indian English), french-fried potatoes, or simply fries, are '' batonnet'' or ''allumette''-cut deep-fried potatoes of disputed origin from Belgium and France. Th ...

corn-on-the-cob Corn on the cob is a culinary term for a cooked ear of sweet corn (maize) eaten directly off the cob. The ear is picked while the endosperm is in the "milk stage" so that the kernels are still tender. Ears of corn are steamed, boiled, or g ...

funnel cake Funnel cake (Pennsylvania German: ''Drechderkuche'') is a regional sweet food popular in North America, found mainly at carnivals and amusement parks. It is made by deep-frying batter. History The concept of the funnel cake dates back to the ea ...

ice cream Ice cream is a sweetened frozen food typically eaten as a snack or dessert. It may be made from milk or cream and is flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit such as str ...

kettle corn Kettle corn is a sweet variety of popcorn that is typically mixed or seasoned with a light-colored refined sugar, salt, and oil. It was traditionally made in cast iron kettles, hence the name, but in modern times other types of pots and pans ar ...

, and fresh-squeezed

lemonade Lemonade is a sweetened lemon-flavored beverage. There are varieties of lemonade found throughout the world. In North America and South Asia, cloudy still lemonade is the most common variety. There it is traditionally a homemade drink using le ...

are other local favorites. Nearly three tons of chicken are cooked each year in the world's largest

frying pan A frying pan, frypan, or skillet is a flat-bottomed pan used for frying, searing, and browning foods. It is typically in diameter with relatively low sides that flare outwards, a long handle, and no lid. Larger pans may have a small grab han ...

. The pan made its debut at the second annual festival in 1950. The first and original pan was used and made by the Mumford Sheet Metal Company in

Selbyville, Delaware Selbyville is a town in Sussex County, Delaware, United States. Its population was 2,167 at the 2010 census, an increase of 31.7% over the previous decade. It is part of the Salisbury, Maryland-Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Se ...

, and was "given to the Delmarva Poultry Industry for use in promoting chicken produced on the Delmarva Peninsula". It was ten feet in diameter and had an eight-foot handle, was 18 inches deep, required 180 gallons of cooking oil and 150 gallons of LP gas, weighed 650 pounds, and could hold 800 chicken quarters. The 65th Annual Delmarva Chicken Festival was estimated to use four tons of chicken. The 65th Delmarva Chicken Festival in 2014 was expected to be the final year for the festival and its Giant Fry Pan. The Del-Mar-Va Chicken Festival took place June 13-15, 1950 in

Dover, Delaware Dover () is the capital and second-largest city of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is also the county seat of Kent County and the principal city of the Dover, DE, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Kent County and is part of ...

; the 18th Annual Delmarva Chicken Festival took place June 17-19, 1965 in

Salisbury, Maryland Salisbury () is a city in and the county seat of Wicomico County, Maryland, Wicomico County, Maryland, United States, and the largest city in Eastern Shore of Maryland, the state's Eastern Shore region. The population was 33,050 at the 2020 United ...

; the 19th Annual Delmarva Chicken Festival took place in 1966; the 20th Annual Delmarva Chicken Festival took place June 22-24, 1967 in Dover, Delaware; the 22nd Annual Delmarva Chicken Festival took place June 19-21, 1969 in

Seaford, Delaware Seaford is a city located along the Nanticoke River in Sussex County, Delaware, United States. According to the 2010 Census Bureau figures, the population of the city is 6,928, an increase of 3.4% from the 2000 census. It is part of the Salisb ...

; the 60th Delmarva Chicken Festival took place June 19-20, 1990 in

Centreville, Maryland Centreville is an incorporated town in Queen Anne's County, Maryland, United States on the Delmarva Peninsula. Incorporated in 1794, it is the county seat of Queen Anne's County. The population was 4,285 at the 2010 census. The ZIP code is 216 ...

; the Delmarva Chicken Festival took place June 12-13, 1998 in

Millsboro, Delaware Millsboro is a town in Sussex County, Delaware, United States. Millsboro is part of the Salisbury metropolitan area. History Millsboro's earliest European settlers were of English family origin; though most were second generation colonists who s ...

; the 65th Delmarva Chicken Festival took place June 20-21 in Centreville, Maryland; the 71st Annual Delmarva Chicken Festival took place in mid-June 2020 in Centreville, Maryland on a scaled-down basis caused by

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

; the Delmarva Chicken Festival took place May 21, 2022 in Ocean View, Maryland.

External links

Delmarva Poultry Industry, Inc.
Festivals in Delaware Festivals in Maryland Food and drink festivals in the United States 1948 establishments in the United States Recurring events established in 1948

References

{{US-cuisine-stub

See also

External links

References