VERSAILLES — With approval from the Health Department, Poultry Days 2020 will be held at Heritage Park in Versailles from Aug. 14 through 16. This will be the first time the festival has been held in a different location in over sixty years. The park, which is owned by Poultry Days was originally envisioned as site for the festival but that never occurred because Ultimate Frisbee Tournaments normally use the park during the festival. The festival plans to return to South Center street next year.
The park provides 40 acres to disperse carnival rides, and other attractions. Protocols have been established with the Darke County Health Dept to ensure the safety of visitors. Masks will not be required but visitors will be encouraged to practice social distancing, use wash stations and follow guidelines. The Poultry Days Committee thanks the Health Dept for their support.
Chicken sales have begun with a flurry with over 2,000 halves sold and another 100 selling daily. Poultry Days has received a large volume of questions about 2020 chicken sales. First, the festival intends to sell the traditional individual dinners and will not rely entirely on presale. Individual dinner prices remain at $8 for 2020 and include half a chicken, applesauce, chips, roll, butter, and orange drink. Tickets can be purchased at Versailles S&L, Johns IGA or the Versailles branch of Second National Bank. Tickets will also be on sale the weekend of the festival. Sales begin at 3:30 p.m. Friday, 11:30 a.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. Sunday. Poultry Days strives to serve dinners through supper, but demand is unpredictable and supplies can run out sooner.
Twenty halves (chicken only) are available for purchase for $130 online at versaillespoultrydays.com. Chicken is taken directly off the cookers and placed in a metal caterer’s pan which is then placed in a Styrofoam cooler. The chicken can remain hot for up to five hours if unopened. All orders for bulk chicken must be placed by July 27.
Free delivery of chicken on Friday Aug. 14 is also available. Purchases of two or more coolers of chicken will be delivered with 25 miles of Versailles by noon on Friday, Aug. 14 at no additional cost. This option is only available on Aug. 14. Free delivery includes Greenville, Troy, Sidney, Minster, New Bremen and Piqua.
Both the Miss Chick and Little Miss Pageants will be held at the old high school. Unfortunately, Poultry Days was unable to hold the Grand or Antique Car parades this year. Both carnival rides and the YOLO 5K have also been approved to be held. Presale ride tickets are $15 to ride all day; cost at the festival is $20. Presale wristbands are on sale through Aug. 13 via a coupon to be turned in at the festival for $15 at Johns IGA, Second National Bank, ACE Hardware and the Versailles Savings & Loan in Versailles. Subject to weather, rides will operate from 1 to 11 p.m. on Saturday and 1 to 10 p.m. on Sunday. There will be no change or location or route for the 5K. Registration information for the 5K can be found at yoloorg.com.
Registration for Miss Chick continues at versaillespoultrydays.com. First prize is $1,000 and a lifetime title of “Miss Chick”. Prizes are also awarded for the first and second runners up. Contestants do not need to be from Versailles or Darke County. Contestants may reside in any contiguous county including Miami, Mercer, Montgomery, Shelby, Auglaize, Preble, Jay, Randolph and Wayne. Contestants must be female and 16 years of age by the day of the contest, and no older than 19 years of age (limited to graduating high school seniors of the class of 2020). Registration for Little Miss Poultry Days is closed. Organizers of both pageants are developing procedures to maintain safety.
For more information about the chicken available, contact at [email protected]. Heritage Park is located at 10200 Klipstine Road in Versailles. Additional festival details can be found at versaillespoultrydays.com or on the Poultry Days’ Facebook page.
