Founded in 2016 in New Orleans, the National Fried Chicken Festival (FCF) presented by Raising Cane’s is a two-day outdoor festival bringing together hundreds of thousands from across the nation around a shared love of great food, music, and culture. In 2024, the festival attracted a record-breaking 128,000 attendees from across Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Texas, and the entire U.S. to celebrate and enjoy the iconic Southern dish, living up to its title as the #6 Best Specialty Food Festival as ranked by the USA Today 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards earlier in the year.
Each year, the festival presents its highly-coveted food awards for the most unique and delicious dishes judged by an esteemed panel of food critics, influencers, chefs, and journalists. In 2024, over 40 participating restaurants from across the country competed for a chance at the title, with Chicken’s Kitchen taking home “Best Use of Chicken in a Dish” and new vendor, The NOLA Chuckwagon, winning “Best Fried Chicken” overall. Festival organizers also presented the inaugural People’s Choice Award to Bonafried, who received the most votes from the public over the course of the two-day event.
Equally buzzworthy is the festival’s star-studded entertainment roster, featuring a wide variety of musical acts and performances throughout the weekend. FCF 2024 was no exception, with unforgettable performances from top musicians like Bun B, Better Than Ezra, Teedra Moses, Cupid, Shamarr Allen, PNC, DJ Jubilee, Bonerama, and many more.
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