Chandler Ostrich Festival

Ostriches return to Chandler for annual big-bird celebration

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March 5, 2007

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Chandler Ostrich Festival

It seems an odd thing for a city to base a yearly festival around an awkward-looking flightless bird taller than most men. And if Dr. A.J. Chandler had decided to import, say, tortoises instead of ostriches back in 1914 … well, the races would be a lot slower, that’s for sure.

But Chandler decided on ostriches, driving them across the Valley of the Sun to a 200-bird pen west of the San Marcos Golf Course, where they provided feathers for fashionable hats, leather for boots and meat and eggs for culinary pursuits.

Nearly a century later, visitors to this weekend’s Chandler Ostrich Festival at Tumbleweed Park have the opportunity to peruse the same feathers, leather meat and eggs — in component pieces, or on the living thing.

Here, a few facts to help you bone up on the bird.

Don’t try to outrun one: At speeds of up to 45 mph, they’re the second-fastest animal in the world (and the fastest two-legged one).

The losers of the ostrich races will be made into burgers and jerky. (No, not really, although those dishes and fresh emu eggs will be available in the part of the park designated as Ostrich Alley - view the map.)

There are more than 2 million ostriches worldwide, farmed from Alaska to Africa.

At 7 feet to 9 feet tall (males), the ostrich is the largest living bird in the world. But its brain is only about as big as its eyes are — 2 inches across.

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