LONDON, Ky. (LEX 18) — For 34 years, people from all over America have taken over downtown London for the annual World Chicken Festival. It’s a four-day street fair steeped in the tradition of Kentucky’s famous chicken recipes.
“So, in 1990, there were several individuals in London that got together to try to honor the chicken heritage that is Laurel County,” said Travis Short, the Public Relations Manager for the London-Laurel Tourism Commission.
Colonel Harland Sanders and KFC got their start in Laurel County, with the first restaurant located in Corbin. His nephew, who worked for KFC, went on to form Lee’s Famous Chicken. The festival began in 1990 because that year marked Sanders’ 100th birthday.
“Four days of nothing but carnival rides, free concerts, food vendors; more food than you can possibly imagine,” Mr. Short said.
It’s been a difficult year in London, from severe weather to political issues within City Hall and the shooting of Doug Harless, which remains under investigation, so the hope is this week’s event will have a bit of a healing property to it.
“We had hurricane Helene that actually came through during last year's chicken festival. And then on May 16, we were hit with the devastating EF 4 tornado,” Short said.
Economically, it provides a big boost as well as vendors from across the country come to set up shop, paying the city a fee to do so.
“Hotels see an impact, local restaurants see an impact, either through their brick-and-mortar stores or the individuals who have the food trucks,” Short said.
Short said, depending on the year, the city and county could see anywhere from 50,000 to 100,000 visitors to the downtown area over the course of those four days.
His staff and everyone else who makes this possible spend about 9 months of the year putting it together. Now it all begins this week.
*For a list of World Chicken Festival times, and musical performances, click here: World Chicken Festival - London, Kentucky | Schedule at a Glance
