Feathered & fabulous: Second annual show offers chicken-centric fun

How many times have you thought, “I really need to see a chicken dressed as Batman”? Your fowl thoughts may hatch into full-fledged reality at the second annual Chicken Fashion Show: Where Feathers Meet Fierce, June 20 in the field next to Stellar Luxe in Yacolt. The six-hour festival will not only feature the height of cluck couture but also includes food trucks and an artisan market selling chicken-inspired wares. Yacolt resident Jordana LaSalle, 47, hosted the inaugural show last year at the suggestion of a friend. “It basically started as a fun little joke and snowballed from there,” said LaSalle, owner of Stellar Luxe, a gift and home decor store. “I don’t even know if something like this exists anywhere else. Maybe somewhere in the world. But I have never heard of one.” Chicken fashion shows do exist, but they’re exceedingly rare, in spite of the obvious appeal of seeing a Buff Orpington dressed as Beyoncé. For example, the Canadian city of Yarmouth in Nova Scotia hosted a chicken fashion show in 2019. Chicken costumes are available to buy online at sites like backyardchickens.com and Country Living Magazine published an article about chicken costumes in August 2021. There are apparently many, many people who enjoy dressing up their chickens — and even more people who are thrilled to see haute couture hens. LaSalle estimates that a whopping 2,000 people attended her show last year, including the approximately 24 chicken fashion models. “Last year’s event just kept growing and growing,” LaSalle said. “By the time the date arrived, we had about two dozen chicken entries and the town was bustling. We had judges and an award ceremony for the chickens.” People came not just to see the fancy fowl but also to play chicken-themed human games, like “chicken polo,” where contestants dressed in inflatable chicken costumes were given broomsticks to try and whack a beach ball into a goal the most times. Other attendees dressed as chickens played “chicken pick-up,” using extendable grabbers to pick up little balls, aka “eggs.” Whoever picked up the most eggs won. The prize? Merely the glow of triumph and the cheers of the adoring crowd. “People were taking this very seriously,” LaSalle said. “We had a guy who looked like a Viking and he said, ‘There can be only one.’ ” Most of the festivities will take place in a large, open field next to LaSalle’s store and free parking will be available in the adjacent parking lot and on side streets. She said she’s expecting even more people to attend this year’s show, but even with the crowds, she doesn’t expect it to be a rowdy event. Everybody at last year’s event was just “there for a good time,” LaSalle said. “Everybody was calm. There was no chaos.” She’s added a couple new human activities this year, she said, including “chicken yodeling,” in which people impersonate a chicken and the best impression wins. There will also be a chicken dance flash mob. “Me personally, I would like to have the world’s largest chicken dance flash mob,” LaSalle said. “Yacolt’s going to be Chicken Town, U.S.A.” But chickens aren’t the only barnyard birds who can strut their stuff. LaSalle said that she may eventually open it up to ducks, because many duck owners contacted her and expressed their desire to join the fluffy feathered fashion party. LaSalle said she might call it “chickens and feathered friends.” The main event — the chicken fashion show — is at 3 p.m. However, there will be plenty to keep attendees occupied for the entire day. In addition to games, the six-hour, family-friendly event will include a kids’ play zone. Food trucks will sell barbecue, lemonade, cotton candy, kettle corn and baked potatoes, LaSalle said, and there’s also a pizza place in town. The artisan vendor market will feature “anywhere from 20 to 40” vendors selling chicken tchotchkes and chicken-themed products. Last but certainly not least, LaSalle said, attendees can commemorate the day with photos from a chicken-themed photo booth. LaSalle said she’s got about as many chicken models registered for this year’s show as last year’s but she thinks more may sign up before June 20. She doesn’t know exactly what the costumes will be, because people like to keep their costumes secret, perhaps to keep the competition from getting any ideas. It also takes a while for chicken owners to complete their custom-tailored chicken outfits, she said. Several of last year’s chickens sported tutus but there was also a fairy princess chicken, a farm girl chicken and a burlesque chicken. And yes, there was a Beyoncé chicken. But last year’s winner was a “sheriff Batman chicken,” LaSalle said. “It was a gorgeous chicken,” Lasalle said. “It was a very large chicken, very well feathered, very well maintained.” The winning chickens will receive gift baskets from the local Tractor Supply store, LaSalle said. Judges include Yacolt Sheriff Charles Harris, Lisa Steenson (co-creator of the popular board game Trailer Park Wars and organizer of the Mrs. Roper Pub Crawl) and LaSalle’s friend Camilla Nelson. Fashion champions will also get custom-printed 3D trophies to display with pride in the owner’s home (or coop, as the case may be). The stakes in LaSalle’s Chicken Fashion Show may be low relative to the globe’s other pressing matters, but who doesn’t want to see glammed-up Gallus gallus domesticus strutting down a catwalk? People came from as far away as Estacada and Salem, Ore., for last year’s show, LaSalle said, and some folks will fly in from Phoenix, Ariz., for the 2026 show. Does LaSalle herself own any chickens? “I do not,” LaSalle said. “I just think they’re hilarious.”

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