National Chicken Boy Day
In Los Angeles, there's a famous 22-foot tall statue of a boy with a chicken head — an iconic landmark with an interesting history.
While many people may not yet have heard of Chicken Boy, those who have had the pleasure of the experience have created a bit of a cult following from it. And Chicken Boy Day is the time to learn about and enjoy this unique landmark and the fun that goes along with it.
History of National Chicken Boy Day
Perhaps a bit obscure, but no less interesting because of it, Chicken Boy is a rather famous statue that sits in Los Angeles, California. The story of Chicken Boy dates back more than 50 years, to the 1960s when this statue with a man body and chicken head was formed from fiberglass. This statue was made by the International Fiberglass Company out of Venice, which is the same company responsible for outdoor advertising statues of Paul Bunyan as well as the Muffler Man.
Coming in at 22 feet tall, Chicken Boy was placed on top of a roof on the historic Route 66 in downtown LA where he could be viewed standing guard over the city, while holding his bucket full of chicken. He lived on top of the Chicken Boy restaurant until 1984 when the restaurant owner died and the statue went into storage for more than 20 years.
In 2007, the artist who was in possession of the statue, Amy Inouye, brought Chicken Boy back out and placed him on top of the building of her design firm, Future Studio, on Avenue 56 and Figueroa Street in Los Angeles.
Chicken Boy had not survived the decades of storage in pristine shape, so a community effort was made to help pay for the restoration process. National Chicken Boy Day pays heed to this rather silly, but also iconic, statue that presides over the city of Los Angeles.
How to Celebrate National Chicken Boy Day
Have some fun celebrating this quirky, iconic statue with some of these ideas:
Visit Chicken Boy in Los Angeles
One fun way to celebrate this day would be to hop over to Los Angeles, California to visit Chicken Boy in person. Of course there are many other things to do in LA, so the statue can be just one of many fun stops and tourist sights along the way.
Enjoy Some Fried Chicken
Since Chicken Boy was created as an advertising gimmick for the restaurant, one way to celebrate National Chicken Boy Day might be to enjoy eating some fried chicken. Sadly, the original restaurant has been closed for decades, but other local fried chicken places can certainly offer a tasty bucket of chicken in celebration of the day.
Create Your Own Chicken Boy
Perhaps it won’t be 22 feet tall, but a fun project for National Chicken Boy Day might be to get kids or friends involved in recreating the statue in miniature. Look up some photos online, get some modeling clay, and see how much fun it is to make a man with a chicken head holding a yellow bucket!
