National Fried Chicken Festival returns this weekend in New Orleans

The National Fried Chicken Festival is back this year on Saturday, September 30th - Sunday, October 1st at the New Orleans Lakefront. The festival was founded in 2016 and is a two-day outdoor event bringing together hundreds of thousands from across the nation around a shared love of great food, music, and culture. The festival debuted its scenic new location along the Lakefront in 2022, with added space to offer more restaurants, on-site activations, and family-focused activities for guests to enjoy.

Photo byfrenchquarter.com

This year's festival will feature the best of the best, with over 50 participating restaurants and celebrity chefs showcasing their unique spins on fried chicken for a chance to win this year's title of "Best Fried Chicken." In addition to indulging in all the fried chicken they can eat, guests will enjoy three different stages of live entertainment, two luxurious VIP lounges, a car show, a kids zone, a marketplace featuring products from local artisans and retailers, and a variety of other activities, activations, and photo ops throughout the weekend. This year's food lineup includes Gus's World Famous Fried Chicken, Southerns, Morrow’s, and Sun Chong, Your Side Chicks from Oregon, Bird Box Express and Birrieria la Poblana from the DMV, Four Pegs Smokehouse and POLLO from Kentucky, Fry Daddy’s from Alabama, STUFF’D Wings from Texas, PONKO Chicken from Georgia, and Rickette’s World Famous Chicken, Fish & BBQ from Illinois.

Photo byneworleans.com

In addition to the two music stages with all-day entertainment from local and national artists, there will be a third stage: the Heinz “Food is Culture” Stage, which will feature cooking demonstrations, ted-style talks, panel discussions, and more with national celebrity chefs and culinary thought leaders.

The National Fried Chicken Festival presented by Raising Cane’s is produced by the Festivals for Good, a Louisiana-based 501c3 nonprofit.

Guests can park for free at the UNO Lakefront Arena. To get more information on FCF 2023 or to purchase tickets, go to https://friedchickenfestival.com/