Ladd unveils chicken sculpture in its downtown

Whenever Rhonda Bezely tells someone she is from Ladd, she knows what’s next.

“Ladd? The home of Rip’s chicken?”

She’s decided to embrace and celebrate the village’s notoriety — in the form of an 8-foot tall colorful chicken sculpture along Main Street.

Rip’s Tavern has been featured by several media for its fried chicken, drawing lines of customers out the door on a regular basis. Ladd also is home to G & G Poultry.

Bezely said she first heard of the chicken sculpture from realtors and then asked the Village Board if she was able to sell unused items from the village if those funds would be able to go toward the purchase of the sculpture. They said yes, and Thursday morning the public art was unveiled along the west sidewalk of the 100 block of South Main Street.

Knowing Rip’s chicken is an attraction, with visitors coming from all over to stop and taste it, Bezely is hoping visitors will stay longer and grab a selfie with the chicken. The village is conducting a couple of contests too: Take a selfie with the chicken, tag the Village of Ladd on Facebook and you’ll be put in a quarterly drawing. Another contest encourages people to suggest a name for the downtown chicken.

Bezely said the community is embracing the sculpture since it’s been unveiled. She said townspeople have volunteered to buy benches and install flower pots, offering to regularly water and maintain them for the village.

“That’s all you want, to create some town pride,” Bezely said. “It’s a cool thing for our town.”