California Beaches Blog

You’ll get two different answers as to why the chickens cross the road in California, depending on if you are in the Central Coast beach town of Arroyo Grande, or if you are in the Central Valley city of Fair Oaks.

In Fair Oaks they celebrate chickens each year with an annual Fair Oaks Chicken Festival that brings the crowd out, beeping their horns for the chickens to hurry up and cross so they can park their cars to celebrate. Food (maybe some fried chicken) and other tasty items, dancing, bands and even people in chicken costumes are what you find in this charming town which they like to prance around. Note: Fair Oaks Chicken Festival will be on Sept. 18, 2010.

In Arroyo Grande, the chickens and roosters like to hang out near the Swinging Bridge. The locals have been known to throw them some crumbs and scraps, keep little bowls of water out for them, and I’ve even seen some little chicken huts in the woods. The chickens and roosters (and there are some dandy roosters!) like to prance around all day, though the stay slightly at bay of tourist who come to poke around and get pictures of them. They sit on the fence next to city hall, and sometimes, I’ve seen them cross the road in downtown’s historic village where the cars zip by. People are fairly mindful of them and certainly try to drive cautiously so as not to hit the beloved community mascots.

So the next time you are exploring the California beaches of the Central Coast, veer over to Arroyo Grande downtown village to see the chickens, roosters and the cool Swinging Bridge.

And the next time you visit Sacramento to see your local elected official, or tour the city’s many museums and attractions, head 23 miles northeast of the city to explore charming Fair Oaks.

Now, if you want to see the capital of eggs (and chickens), don’t forget to check out the Petaluma Butter & Eggs Parade celebration. That will be April 24, 2010.