The 2024 Chicken Festival & Fry Off was a huge success this past weekend! Thank you to everyone who came out: those who fried chicken and potatoes, vendors, volunteers, sponsors, and judges! Thank you to everyone who came out to enjoy the day as well.

This event kicked right off, and Brookville had an incredible turnout of attendees. Covering the courthouse lawn, you found kids entertainment such as a bounce house pin balancing for prizes, games, multiple vendors set up to market and sell some incredible products, and several tables and chairs for those enjoying their fried chicken and the amazing entertainment acts. The back parking lot is where you found the gold, though. Back here, you found all of our fryers working hard to fry their best chicken, both for the festival and for the competition. Each one was unique, had its own set of secret spices, and a taste that had everybody coming back for more! 

Let’s not forget the talented acts who provided good music and vibes all day long! 

First, we had rising star Blake Smith, who came out and performed a few of his songs. Blake has been writing and singing music for a long time and was known to perform on Main Street. Now, as he continues to write and upload songs, he is finally working his way up and large festivals like the Chicken Fry Off was a great choice for him. Blake is currently unstoppable in his journey to writing and producing his music, and it was a pleasure to everyone to hear his music. 

Following him was a duo who go by the names Alex and Noah, or Lionus Tate. Their choice of music and songs kept the crowd at ease, entertained, and provided a fun-filled ambience to the festival following the competition portion of the festival. 

Lastly, to end the festival, was a well-known group called Tumbling Dice. TD is a Rolling Stones tribute band and there was no doubt that when they began performing, the crowd was hooked! 

There were also some great vendors who came out. Each brought out their best pieces or equipment to give all of the attendees some fun shopping time and gifts for the kids! 

Alyssa Brown had her Moonlight Enchanted Candles (all homemade), Rachel Quinlan was out to showcase some handmade jewelry through Earth+Metals (owned by Dana Study), Joe Studt had a tent full of beautiful hand-crafted woodwork, Brendan Granger had a unique “build-a-bear” set-up for kids to fill and create their own plushies (through Jemma’s Snuggle Buddies), and lastly, we had Tabitha with Downtime Creations (printed tumblers, baby clothes, and more). 

Vendors were set up around the courthouse for some additional food selections, and the Pioneer had a beer garden set up.  

Now, let’s meet the teams who fried some of the best fried chicken Franklin County has ever had! 

Shear Design 

Russ ‘n’ Brad 

Praise the Lard 

Breast, Busch, & Thighs 

Chicken Kings 

Kettle Fried Chicken 

Metcalfs 

M&M’s 

Each team, while following the frying rules for the competition, delivered their own unique fried chicken, which had the judges stumped on who should win this year. 

One of the judges this year was the KFC Brand Ambassador Colonel Johnny D. Miller, who brought out his expertise in everything fried chicken to decide who had the best. 

It was a tough decision all around, but in the end, the winners were announced by the Colonel himself. 

First place went to Praise the Lard - Joey Singer and Logan Meier - who won $1000 and the Chicken Festival trophy for the best fried chicken of 2024! 

Second place went to Metcalfs. Their prize was $300. 

Split the Pot winner was Nathan Striegler! 

Congratulations to the winners and thank you to everyone who was patient while waiting to grab a meal. Dozens of attending residents all agreed that the Chicken Festival was a great time with great food and games, and so much enjoyment. 

Thank you to the following sponsors: Dennis Kolb, Bee Safe Driving School, Shear Designs, Brookville Pavey’s Phillips 66, White’s Farm, Dairy Cottage, and S&W Homes! 

This was a huge community effort so thank you to everyone who helped set up the courthouse lawn. Thank you to all organizations who decorated and/or mapped out placements, and lastly, thank you to Main Street Brookville for executing the 3rd annual Chicken Fry-Off festival with such success! 

We hope to see everybody again next year!