Rotary’s ChickenFest celebrates 75 years

St. James

The Rotary Club of West Winnipeg held its first meeting on Aug. 30, 1951 at the Winnipeg Flying Club. The first president was Norman Bailey.

Over the last 75 years, it has hosted dozens of interesting guests at club meetings and events. They include Frank Morriss, a longtime Winnipeg Free Press and Winnipeg Tribune journalist; Mark Smerchanski, a geologist and politician who served as both an MLA and an MP; Sidney Spivak, a former provincial cabinet minister and leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba from 1971 to 1975. More recent Rotary guests include singer Jennifer Hanson, and freelance photographer Brook Jones.

The Rotary Club of West Winnipeg is most famous, though, for its annual ChickenFest fundraising campaigns, which has been run in partnership with Chicken Delight for many years.

The first ChickenFest I found in Winnipeg newspaper archives was held on Sept. 21, 1954, at the old Paddock Restaurant in the Polo Park area, and the story featured a photo of members Bob Odowda and Pete Irwin promoting the event. Winnipeg Blue Bomber legend Kenny Ploen was pictured promoting the 1960 and 1966 ChickenFests. In fact, former Winnipeg Blue Bomber general manager Earl Lunsford, who held the job from 1968 to 1983), once served as president of Winnipeg West Rotary. After 22 years at the Paddock, ChickenFest moved just west to the Viscount Gort Hotel and eventually to the Canad Inn Polo Park.

In 1997, the Flood of the Century forced the ChickenFest to be delayed from May 6 to June 10. All proceeds that year went to flood relief.

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of the 2020 event, so a delivery-only Chicken Fest was held in September and early October of that year. In 2021, the regular spring event returned with a lunch delivery. The hotel banquet version of ChickFest has yet to return.

Between 1983 and 2012, I worked on and off for Chicken Delight. I was involved with various ChickenFests as a driver, counter person and a manager. After I make my first 2026 delivery as a Rotarian, I will be able to say that I delivered for Chicken Delight in five different decades. I will be one decade behind hockey star Gordie Howe, who played professional hockey in six different decades.

The 2026 ChickenFest was launched on March 26 at the 1155 Notre Dame Ave. headquarters of Specialized Services for Children and Youth. Chicken Delight hosted a buffet dinner, with entertainment provided by the Woodhaven Men’s Shed. Nicole Dube hosted the evening and provincial cabinet minister Malaya Marcelino brought greetings from the government.

This year’s ChickenFest offers three meal choices for delivery on April 30, May 1 and from May 4-8. All proceeds from the event will help fund various organizations, including Royal Canadian Air Cadets 191 Squadron; Red River Indigenous youth scholarships; Salvation Army kettles; Grant’s Old Mill; and the Christmas Cheer Board.

For more information, or to order a ChickenFest meal, visit wpgwestrotary.org/stories