2022 National Fried Chicken Festival in NOLA Being Held Oct. 1-2

Lovers of poultry that's been battered, dipped, and fried can rejoice, the National Fried Chicken Festival is returning to the Big Easy.

The popular event will return on October 1 and 2 on New Orleans Lakeshore Drive at Franklin Avenue. The festival has not been held since 2019 due to the pandemic.

The National Fried Chicken Festival is sponsored by Raising Cane's, however, the focus of the festival is smaller restaurants, food trucks, caterers, and those whose passion is fried chicken.

“We think it’s about great chefs and restaurants making unique versions of fried chicken. That’s the headliner,” Festival founder Cleveland Spears III said.

The first Fried Chicken Festival was held in 2016 in Lafayette Square and was an immediate success with a huge turnout. In the second year, it moved to bigger digs at Woldenberg Park, between the Mississippi River and the French Quarter. The event would grow to three days and had a reported attendance of 183,000 over that span of three days.

This year's festival will feature over 30 chefs and restaurants from across the United States, a lively lineup of musical performances, and cooking demonstrations across three stages, as well as the return of the Best Fried Chicken Contest, Best Use of a Chicken in Dish contest and this year's Culinary Icon Award ceremony.

The National Fried Chicken Festival will be held Saturday, October 1 from 11:00 am to 9:00 pm and Sunday, October 2 from 11:00 am to 8:00 pm at the New Orleans Lakefront.

For more information about the festival, visit FriedChickenFestival.com.