NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — Many festivals and events across Louisiana that were supposed to happen in the fall are canceled due to the COVID-19 surge. On Thursday, another was added to the list.

The fifth annual National Fried Chicken Festival presented by Raising Canes will no longer happen due to the rise in COVID-19 cases.

“Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, our team has maintained that the health and safety of our guests, restaurateurs, crew, and community would always be our priority,” said Cleveland Spears, III, FCF organizer and President/CEO of the Spears Group. “ This decision was particularly difficult, as the independently owned restaurants that participate in our festival have had an extraordinarily difficult year. We remain committed to finding other ways to support those restaurants over the coming weeks and months. We look forward to returning with an extraordinary experience in the fall of 2022. But in the meantime, we ask the community to comply with all COVID-19 health and safety guidelines so we can come together again to celebrate America’s favorite dish.”

“We remain focused on doing what’s best for our Crew, our customers and our communities as well as with the events we support such as National Fried Chicken Festival,” said Todd Graves, Raising Cane’s Founder and CEO.

“While we are disappointed that the festival can’t go on as planned, we look forward to bringing everyone back together to celebrate in 2022.”
The National Fried Chicken Festival is hopeful that the event will be able to safely return sometime next year and encourages festival-goers to continue to follow along on their official Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter pages for future updates and announcements.

For more information, visit friedchickenfestival.com.