The Village of Fair Oaks, colonized around 1895, was home to orange and citrus groves as well as olive orchards and assorted farm animals and, without a doubt, chickens were among them.

Today the Fair Oaks chickens enjoy the freedom and hospitality of the village they call home. They, along with their human counterparts, attend the Thursday night summer concerts in the park. They can be found crowing their appreciation for a good performance at the Fair Oaks Theatre Festival. They gather in front of the local pub and other village businesses and even drop in for a bite with diners on the patio of one of Sacramento County's better known restaurants. They have been the subject of television and radio stories as well as local newspaper and magazine articles. In short, they are a part of our history and lore and love 'em or curse 'em they are a very real part of everyday life in the village they call home.

In 2008, we celebrated our chickens and our village with the third Annual Fair Oaks Chicken Festival and the results were astonishing! How were we to know that our chickens would prove to be so popular?

WHAT A GREAT PARTY

"I had a great time! Be sure to do it again! We'll be back next year!" was heard over and over throughout the day and many times since then. It came from the Festival goers, the vendors, the bands, the chefs, the microbreweries, the kids and their moms and dads, and the merchants in the Village.