Who could have imagined that a two-foot animal would become a celebrity, drawing crowds to an annual festival? This is possible by none other than the local legend that is Mike the Headless Chicken.
Mike was a chicken in Fruita, Colorado who survived without a head for 18 months. Farmer Lloyd Olsen had cut off the chicken’s head with an axe, planning to eat him for dinner, but just barely missed the jugular vein, leaving one ear and most of the brain stem intact.
After Olsen realized that Mike had survived the beheading, he decided to take care of him. Word soon got out that there was a headless chicken on the Olsen farm, and he quickly became a worldwide star.
He traveled all over the country and was even highlighted in Time and Life magazines. However, his run as a celebrity would eventually caome to an end.
In order to eat without a head, Mike was fed with an eyedropper. While traveling back from tour one night, he started to choke on his food which would unfortunately lead to his death.
Although Mike had passed away, his legacy lives on through the annual Mike the Headless Chicken Festival which happens the first weekend of June in Fruita, Colorado.
“The festival was started back in the 90s, I believe, and it was just a way to get the community involved and come together and celebrate something that is kind of quirky,” said Communications and Engagement Manager for the city of Fruita Ciara DePinto.
The festival consists of multiple events such as a car show, a 5K run, eating competitions and much more. Something new that was done for this year was an art competition for the design of the festival’s poster.
Mike’s popularity ranges worldwide as the festival often hashas often had people travel from outside the country. Marketing will start within the next few weeks, hitting big targets like Denver and Salt Lake City.
“The past few years we’ve seen about around 17,000 coming through both Friday and Saturday, so it’s a pretty big event,” said DePinto.
This year’s festival is space cowboy themed. If you want to check it out for yourself, the city of Fruita will be hosting the Mike the Headless Chicken Festival on May 31 and June 1.
