Delmarva Chicken Festival celebrates 100 years of the broiler

After nearly a decade-long absence, the Delmarva Chicken Festival returned Oct. 7.

Organized by the Delmarva Chicken Association and held every year from 1948 to 2014, the festival returned this year to mark the 100th anniversary of the first dedicated broiler chicken farm on Delmarva. The event was held at Perdue Stadium in Salisbury, Md.

The festival featured local food trucks, vendors, historical and educational exhibits, children's activities, live music and fireworks. There was also a chicken-picking contest.

Delmarva’s five chicken companies – Allen Harim Foods, Amick Farms, Mountaire Farms, Perdue Farms and Tyson Foods – were the event’s presenting sponsors. Employees from the different companies participated in field day-style games.

Ocean View resident Cecile Steele is credited with creating the broiler chicken industry, when, in 1923, she received a shipment of 500 chickens, instead of the 50 she ordered. She raised the chickens and then sold them at 62 cents per pound.

According to the Delmarva Chicken Association, in 2022, the Delmarva chicken community raised 596 million chickens, produced 4.4 billion pounds of chicken and generated $5 billion in wholesale value. Delmarva's chicken companies spent a record $1.6 billion on corn, wheat, soybeans and other feed ingredients in 2022, and paid their employees $891 million in wages, excluding benefits.

For more information on Delmarva Chicken Association, 16686 County Seat Hwy., Georgetown, go to dcachicken.com, call 302-856-9037 or email dca@dcachicken.com.