Chicken is an all-time favorite food for people across the globe, but in Nashville, Tennessee, they take their love for this flightless bird to a whole new level by celebrating the city’s annual Hot Chicken Festival. The event, held each July, has met with success for six years in a row, and is intended to raise funds for “Friends of Shelby Park and Bottoms”.

Last week’s event saw Bill Purcell, the former Nashville mayor and founder of the special event, kick things off with a parade of antique fire trucks down Woodland Street. Later in the afternoon, hot chicken vendors filled the field selling various preparations of the tasty fowl, catfish, hot dogs, and snow cones. Even with the sun still shining hot and bright, festival goers chose to brave the heat and fall in line to get their hands on a variety of spicy birds.

Out of the many vendors, Andrea Price is considered to be one of the best cooks of spicy chicken. Price, who owns Prince’s Hot Chicken Shack, refuses to share the secret recipe she uses for her fowls. “I can’t tell. I won’t be able to pay my bills,” said Price. She also added “I’m so proud of all these fans that stand in line so long in the hot, hot sun.”

Some of the highlights during the party included an amateur cooking contest featuring six teams.  A panel of five judges was used to determine which team can concoct the best spicy fried chicken menu. In an attempt to win over the judges, contestants used an assortment of ingredients, such as blueberries and waffles.

Last Wednesday was also the 100^th year anniversary of Shelby Park and Bottoms. As mentioned earlier, funds generated from this festivity will be used for maintenance and improvement of this park. And with the popularity of the Hot Chicken Festival steadily on the rise (it was actually featured in Gourmet Magazine last June), cash needed for improving the park’s cleanliness and aesthetic value will soon flow freely.

Be sure not to miss next year’s Hot Chicken Festival, only in Nashville, Tennessee!