2010 Wing Fest Draws From All 50 States and 36 Countries!
Sonya Thomas Sets New Wing-Eating World Record!
Some 71,000 visitors attended the 2010 NATIONAL BUFFALO WING FESTIVAL, held Labor Day weekend, September 4th and 5th at Buffalo’s Coca-Cola Field. They came from all 50 states, 36 countries, and every continent except Antarctica.
It’s clear they came hungry, as well. According to festival founder and “Wing King”
Drew Cerza, this international gathering of chicken wing lovers consumed 33 tons of what has no doubt become the world’s favorite finger food.
The 2009 event included attendance from every state except Arkansas, which was represented this year. Now, Cerza says he is determined to attract visitors from Antarctica next year. He adds, “I’ll send a dog sled team to pick them up, if that’s what it takes”.
The 2010 NATIONAL BUFFALO WING FESTIVAL also established a new World Record during the U.S. Chicken Wing Eating Championship. Sonya Thomas, who has dominated the competition in recent years, broke her previous record by devouring 181 wings in 12 minutes this year. In the 2005 festival, she had eaten 174.
This year however, Sonya faced stiffer competition, in the form of Joey Chestnut, the number one ranked competitive eater in the world. At the end of 12 minutes of the wing-chewing challenge, Chestnut finished in 2nd Place with 169 wings.
While this annual festival has attracted significant media attention through the years, the 2010 event has clearly outdone its predecessors, drawing coverage from The Today Show, the CBS Early Show, ABC NEWS, MSNBC, the Fox News Channel, USA Today, and numerous other print and electronic media outlets through the world, including the Mainichi Daily News in Japan.
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