members of the Leesville Merchants Association flocked together to hatch the concept of a town festival. It was Sara Shealy, famous throughout the region for eggs-traordinary fried chicken served in her Batesburg-Leesville restaurant, who courageously proposed the

development of a Poultry Festival for the Lexington County community. After

much clucking and crowing, the head rooster called for a vote and the Poultry

Festival was hatched.

What better theme to spotlight the largest agri-business in South Carolina –

a $1 BILLION industry that employs thousands in production, processing,

marketing of eggs, broilers, turkeys, pigeons, quail and spring chickens!

Lexington County; home of Columbia Farms, Saluda County, headquarters

of Amick Farms and Gentry's Poultry Company, and Aiken County are

among the state’s top broiler producers.

The first festival, staged in 1987 called the Ridge Poultry Festival, attracted over

20,000 visitors to the Twin Cities. In 1989, the event, experiencing growing pains changed its name to the South Carolina Poultry Festival to mirror the stampede of Palmetto State citizens who streamed into the town to partake of food, fun, music, crafts, and fireworks. Festival goers have clucked together through the ensuring eggs-travaganza and have packed the weekend population of Batesburg-Leesville to 100,000 plus!!!

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