RAPID CITY, South Dakota – Mayor Jason Salamun will continue a Thanksgiving tradition by issuing a public pardon this Wednesday to a local turkey named ‘Chris Farley,’ granting the area gobbler an official reprieve from the holiday table.
The clemency ceremony marks the fifth year Rapid City’s mayor has participated in the tradition. This year’s event is scheduled for 10 a.m. Wednesday at Main Street Square and is hosted by HomeSlice Media. The public is invited to attend the Turkey Pardon 2025.
Mayor Salamun will grant Chris Farley an official pardon, ensuring the bird is spared this year’s Thanksgiving meal and all future November holidays.
“I am again setting aside knife and fork and taking pen in hand to provide clemency to one fortunate turkey,” Mayor Salamun said. “Chris Farley is a bird whose fortune took a dramatic-and very deserved-turn.”
According to the Mayor’s Office, Chris Farley aspired to Hollywood fame as a chick, practicing his strut and vocalizations. Despite his efforts, the bright lights never materialized, and the turkey now resides in a “coop down by the river.” He did, however, earn the title of Most Eligible Tom in his flock.
“Chris Farley is being plucked from the pot and presented before me for consideration of the annual turkey pardon,” the Mayor added. “I am looking forward to meeting Chris Farley and granting him freedom from plucking and stuffing, from being covered in bacon and spices, and from being cooked. Chris Farley can rest easy knowing it will not be baked, brined, fried, grilled, broiled, crock-potted, microwaved or smoked.”
The official pardon ensures Chris Farley will live out the rest of his days at his riverside home.
Chris Farley joins previous pardoned Rapid City fowl, including Lucky, Giblet Johansson, Gobbles, and Big Bird, in ceremonies dating back to 2021.
The tradition of pardoning turkeys around Thanksgiving is a national and local custom. Presidential historians trace the first recorded presidential act of clemency for a turkey to 1863 when President Abraham Lincoln granted a reprieve to a live turkey intended for Christmas dinner.
