The Story of Mike the Headless Chicken

Grand Junction/Fruita has a unique tradition that someone from out of town might find strange.

We celebrate a headless chicken in a festival every year and he has a name: Mike.

Mike the Headless Chicken has become a legend in the Fruita and Grand Junction area. The June 3rd and 4th festival mark 18 years of celebrating this chicken with an incredible will to survive.

September 10, 1945, started out as a normal day. Mike, who was unnamed at that point, was supposed to be dinner. Lloyd Olsen, the farmer who cut the neck off, discovered the chicken was still alive the next morning. Olsen decided at that moment Mike must have a pretty big will to live, so he would find a way to give him food and water. Mike was given grain and water through an eye dropper.

Mike lived a year and a half without a head, and in that time gained 7 pounds.

What are some other traditions celebrated here that are unique to the Grand Junction area?