Friday Freebie: Chick-fil-A's Cow Appreciation Day

Just in time for dinner comes this offer, today only, but it requires you to eat some humble pie before your main course.

Dress as A Cow, Get a Free Meal

On Friday, July 13, will celebrate its annual Cow Appreciation Day event with a free meal to customers who drop by one of the Atlanta-based chain’s restaurants fully dressed as a cow.

That’s right. Customers dressed “head to hoof” in cow attire will be rewarded with a free Chick-fil-A Meal, which includes an entrée of choice, a side item and a Diet Dr Pepper or other beverage choice. For those “too chicken” to wear full cow costumes, Chick-fil-A will award a complimentary entrée to customers partially dressed in cow attire, such as a cow-spotted scarf, purse, hat or other accessory.

Long Beach residents can come in their best "cow" duds at the Chick-fil-A located closest to Belmont Shore, in Long Beach Town Centre, 7681 Carson Blvd.-about five miles away - or at the east end parking lot of . Or find other locations.

( to see images of last year's Cerritos location participants.)

Popularity of Cow Appreciation Day Continues to Grow

Now in its eighth year, Chick-fil-A’s Cow Appreciation Day continues to build momentum. Last year’s event nearly 600,000 cow-clad customers stampeded Chick-fil-A restaurants across the country. Costumes ranged from simple cow-spotted t-shirts to full cow suits complete with furry ears, cow bells and homemade sandwich boards with personalized renditions of the “Eat Mor Chikin^,” the cows’ quirky message.

Chick-fil-A has a special website dedicated to the occasion, www.CowAppreciationDay.com. The site offers cow costume ideas, as well as downloadable cow spots, masks and other bovine-themed accessories for customers to use to create their costumes. Chick-fil-A also had a photo contest that will be co-hosted on the Cow Appreciation Day site and the chain’s Facebook page: www.facebook.com/ChickfilA. 

The best cow-dressed customers can submit a photo in one of three categories: Best Calf/Calves, Best Cow, and Best Herd. Prizes include Chick-fil-A Cow beach towels, gift cards, and catered parties. Customers can upload photos for the contest from July 13-31.