FITZGERALD — A sudden cold snap kept many festival attendants indoors, but the weather didn’t stop an estimated 12,000 true wild chicken fans from flooding downtown Fitzgerald, Saturday, March 16.

Barry Peavey, lead organizer for the Wild Chicken Festival, said the weather delayed the peak crowd from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and diminished attendance by 10 to 15 percent.

Despite it, organizers managed several days of activities ending with the annual festival that celebrates Fitzgerald’s wild Burmese game chickens.

This year activities started Thursday night, March 14 with an AC/DC tribute concert. Almost 500 people were in attendance. Friday night was the annual Bushmen Street Dance hosted by the Fitzgerald Ben Hill Arts Council.

The dance was moved to the Grand Theatre due to inclement weather, which, Peavey admits, “dampened spirits” until the music started. Still, he had circus performers from the Creative Flame Company juggle, swallow fire and dance with light up wings at the concert. Saturday morning started with a five kilometer race and fun run honoring the life of fallen soldier Michael Buras and a pancake breakfast at the Masonic Lodge.

From 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., the festival was open and featured a series of concerts and performances in Grand Plaza Park. The jugglers and sword swallowers from Creative Flame returned. Local musician Anna Beth Gay performed in the park. The annual chicken crowing contest for ages 4 and up entertained a packed park. The Selah Dance group performed and motorcycle games were held nearby in White Swan Parking Lot.

In conjunction with the Wild Chicken Festival, the Fitzgerald Ben Hill Arts Council hosted a “curated artisan market” behind the Grand Theatre with artists and creators and the annual Wild Chicken Soup Exhibit, featuring an array of regional artists, inside the Carnegie Center [Full disclosure: Shelby Evans is the Arts Coordinator for the Fitzgerald Ben Hill Arts Council].

“The festival itself went off without any problems and our local folks that help with the Michael Buras 5k, Masonic breakfast, Chicken Crowing contest, Ben Hill Library story stage, Humane Society tent, and especially our local city parks workers were absolutely invaluable,” said Peavey.

One vendor has been setting up at the festival since 2004. The Poultry Palace out of Albany is “a traveling Trained Chicken Eggzibit” that brings exotic chickens to educate and amuse festival goers. Tabatha Puiszis, the owner, with her husband Joseph and daughter Abbyhost a variety of shows throughout the day and allow visitors to hold, pet and take pictures with their chickens.

Their interest and appearance at the festival, they said, is obvious.

Tabatha Puisizis laughed and asked, “Where else would we go?”

Her husband leads the performances, calling himself the “Audience Interaction Specialist,” which includes chicken races and piano playing chickens. This year, they had a two-headed chicken.

He said audiences are amazed by the show.

“They’re really amazed that the roosters are walking around and people are picking them up and holding them. They’re amazed that they can play piano without putting corn on it.”

The two started collecting chickens on a whim from feed stores. Then they found more exotic breeds online and started trading with other chicken enthusiast. Half of their horde are rescues.

They explained that long before chickens, the couple had lizards and frequently gifted each other rare breeds. They had a lizard circus called the Chameleon Castle before making the transition to chickens.

The chickens, Joseph said, are “not as expensive or messy as dogs.”

Tabatha said the show is a blessing.

“Just appreciate your food,” she said. “Appreciate animals for who they are, what they are and that God gave us a gift and they will amaze you with what they can do.”

The Poultry Palace is sure to return.

Peavey and Ricky Haggard have been organizing the festival for over 20 years and he said they strive to make it “bigger and better” every year.

Next year, he said, “we’ll have all the things people love to come see and several things they didn’t even know they wanted to see.”