Gainesville Chicken Festival dodges the weather

Gainesville — If anybody left the 11th Annual Spring Chicken Festival Saturday in downtown Gainesville hungry it was their own fault.

Twenty cooking teams churned out just about every kind of poultry delicacy one could imagine. For a five dollar 'Cluck Card' festival consumers had their choice of ten selections ranging from bar-b-que to buffalo to chicken taco and everything in between, spicy or mild.

Troy Ferguson with daughter Chloe and son Cade came all the way from Ball Ground with paper plates in hand, ready to dive in.

"The chicken is good," he said. "We're having a good time and so far the weather is holding out."

The festival opened under threatening skies but it did not rain. In fact, as the event closed the sun came out. That was good news for Kelly Norman Executive Director of Keep Hall Beautiful. 

"The rain didn't hold back our teams and its about to be served," Norman said. "The money raised goes toward the environmental efforts here in Hall County."  We're in the Poultry Capital of the World, we are chicken and we celebrate it here."

The festival parade was canceled based on overnight weather information, but the chicken cooks and their patrons were going full blast. Sean Brandenberg and his brother Will are cooking veterans.

"We love doing it and we came up with the name Chapolt'le Brothers," he said. "We cook about nine different flavors of wings with different stuff on chicken and we love Gainesville. Its a great event to be part of."

Countless cooked chicken choices were not the only thing in the offing on the square. Three authors invited visitors to come buy their books and get them personally signed as soon as they wiped their hands.

Joe Cobb Crawford displayed books from his 'Poetry Company'. Lois Helmers presented her latest genealogy book, 'Early Records of Hall County," and Jameson Gregg brought a comic novel 'Luck to be a Chicken' to Frames Unique where they are on sale. The fact that all three authors once worked in the poultry industry seemed to fit right in.