Mike The Headless Chicken Festival, Fruita, CO
Mike the headless chicken lived without his noggin for a staggering 18 months. In 1945, a farmer cut his head off but missed the jugular vein. The animal didn’t die, so the farmer fed him through his esophagus with an eyedropper. The farmer eventually took him around the states in a traveling exhibit, earning the equivalent of $56,000 a month. This Colorado festival celebrates the bird’s will to live. It takes place over two days in June and includes a chicken wing eating contest, chicken bingo, live music, a 5K “Run Like a Headless Chicken Race,” and car show.
