Preparing for the 100-year anniversary of the first Chicken Day in Glendale, Arizona


It's April of 2021, and that means on the 20th of next month it will be Chicken Day in Glendale, Arizona (a suburb of Phoenix). And before I do the usual cautions about "celebrate in moderation", I'd like to tell you what I know about Chicken Day, which ain't much.

I found a few articles, and ads, about Chicken Day at the Library of Congress site. It starts with the first issue of the Arizona Republican (later shorted to just Republic) in 1890 and ends when I guess the LOC got tired of scanning it in, in 1921. And since I, and my history adventuring friends, have looked carefully through all of the years, I've come to the conclusion that 1921 was the first year for Chicken Day. Whether it lasted even beyond that year I have no idea, but I know a lot of people who grew up in Glendale, as did their parents, and their grandparents, and no one I've ever talked to has even heard it mentioned. If you have, please let me know!


I'm an old marketing guy, and I know that sometimes promotions just, if you'll excuse the expression, lay an egg. It looks like the idea sold a lot of advertising space in the paper, and it's possible it sold a lot of chicken stuff, too. You know, like egg incubators, chicken feed, that sort of thing. I really don't know. It looks like they got a great turnout in 1921!


As for me, I have plans for Chicken Day, which I've been doing every Chicken Day since I discovered it, many years ago - I'm going to eat some chicken. Traditionally, I go to KFC, but I may get fancy and do El Pollo Loco. This may not be what the original creators of Chicken Day had in mind, but it's what works for me.

I wonder if it's too early to start greeting people with "Happy Chicken Day!" here in Glendale?
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