SALISBURY, Md. - The Delmarva Chicken Festival will return this year to mark the 100th anniversary of the chicken growing industry on the Delmarva Peninsula.
The Delmarva Chicken Association announced the news Monday morning during a press conference at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium, which will serve as home to the festival.
The festival will return from 1 to 7 p.m. on October 7.
DCA officials say staples of the festival will be returning including the "Chicken Capers" contests, field day-style games and of course, a whole lot of chicken.
"I remember volunteering for shift work at the Chicken Festival, and we've missed it as a farm community." said Zach Evans, Board President of the Delmarva Chicken Association.
"I'm excited because I think this is the perfect time to bring this event back. You know the community misses this programming," he continued.
The festival is also slated to include live music, including by The Jones Boys, Jimmy Charles and Mike Hines & The Look.
However, the iconic 10-foot "world's largest" frying pan will not be included.
Officials say it is in a museum in less than ideal conditions. In it's place will be a slightly smaller, roughly 6-foot frying pan.
"It's not in a great state of repair, it's been on display and in storage so it's not intended for cooking right now," said Evans, of the frying pan.
"We're going to try to supplement that with a local non-profit that has a pretty big frying pan, not 10 foot, I think it's 6 foot," he continued.
The Delmarva Chicken Festival took place annually from 1948 to 2014. Officials say it ended to focus resources on other missions including chicken industry advocacy.
The grand, one year only return marks a milestone.
DCA officials say 100 years ago, in 1923, an Ocean View, Del. woman inadvertently received a shipment of 500 hens, as opposed to the 50 she had ordered.
Mary Lou Brown, a Dorchester County chicken grower says it is important for people to meet the people who produce the chicken they eat.
"We take care of those chickens to the best of our ability and it's neat to share that with our neighbors and friends of how we do that," she said.
That served as the catalyst for the Delmarva poultry industry we know today.
Included at the event were DCA representatives including Board President Zach Evans of Mountaire Farms, along with local farmers from Dorchester and Wicomico Counties.
The Salisbury Area Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Salisbury Committee are involved in the event.
DCA represents the five major poultry growers on Delmarva: Amick Farms, Allen-Harim, Tyson Foods, Mountaire Farms and Perdue Farms.