Every July Fourth since 2007, the Music City Hot Chicken Festival in East Nashville’s East Park has brought together all of Nashville’s finest spicy-bird establishments for one big celebration of fiery poultry.
Over the years the rooster roster has expanded, and now includes Prince’s, Bolton’s, Pepperfire, 400 Degrees, Chicken Shack Express, Hattie B’s and Hot Stuff. In addition to free samples of hot chicken for the first 500 attendees, the fest features food from other vendors, beer from Yazoo, a parade of fire trucks, family activities, music from local bands and more.
Then there's the annual Amateur Cooking Competition — five teams will battle in heated competition, with their wares judged by a panel of hot chicken experts. Cooking starts at 12:30 p.m., and the winner will be proclaimed around 2. (The winner gets a trophy and Nashville Sounds tickets, presented by the team's hot chicken mascot, Booster.)
We hear that other food vendors include B&C BBQ & Catering, Otaku South with hot chicken buns, The Lemon Spot, Retro Sno, Pied Piper Creamery, The Peach Truck and Community Food Advocates offering free watermelon.
Two pieces of advice? Get there early, and stay hydrated. A third piece of advice? Revisit Scene writer and hot chicken devotee — seriously, he has a hot chicken tattoo — J.R. Lind’s feature “A Hot Bird and a Beer” to see what brews pair best with the hot stuff. It just might save your life.
Music City Hot Chicken Festival
11 a.m.-3 p.m. in East Park
(The festival opens with the parade, which steps off at 10:30 a.m. at Eighth and Woodland streets, then heads west.)
