The 30 Weirdest Eating Contests Across America
Sometimes we joke that eating is a sport, but for these brave souls—scarfing down on everything from super-charged peppers to hulking steaks to an obscene number of cannoli—it really is. This summer, don’t miss out on the food-fueled action of these chow-down competitions across America.
JUNE
June 12: Ribfest Chicago
Featured on Anthony Bourdain’s Eating America, the windy city’s favorite festival includes barbecue plenty of live music, plus this meaty rib eating contest.
June 12: Drag Queen Wing Bowl
Kicks off pride weekend in Philadelphia at this competition cheekily called Wigs and Wings, where you can root for your favorite contestant to beat out the others and make them sashay away.
June 13: Pudding Eating Contest
With rounds for both kids and adults, this sweet event hands out golden ticket prizes to the winners for more free chocolate at the Winter Park Chocolate Festival.
June 13: Corn Eating Contest
At the Louisiana Corn Festival, there’s a corn-chucking show-down before the corn-on-the-cob eating contest, plus a cook-off. The people at this fest really knows how to compete.
June 13: Banana Split Eating Contest
Ohio dedicates an entire weekend of events to the decadent dessert, capping things off with a chow-down among kids, teens, and adults.
June 12-13: Tomato Eating Contest
Right after the tomato peeling contest—where compeitors can only use their teeth—is the eating contest featuring the ruby-red produce. If, by some chance, you’re still hungry after watching all that, there’s also a chili cook-off and a best-in-show competition among tomato farmers.
June 20: Bratwurst Eating and Root Beer Drinking Contests
At the Berges Fest in Boerne, Texas, you can wash down all the sausages from one eating contest with a cold one (or, you know, ten) during the root beer drinking contest. While you digest, take part in the other German celebrations—complete with folk music and even dachshund races.
June 21: Habanero Eating Contest
Watch as the bravest among us take on one of the hottest peppers—for an intense 20 minutes of heat—during this Father’s Day fête.
June 26: Peach Eating Contest
The Louisiana Peach Festival would be hard-pressed without this juicy (albeit sticky) munch-off that makes for a good ‘ol messy time.
June 26: Poutine Eating Contest
Tennessee gets a taste of our Northern brethren with this inaugural gravy and curds showdown held in Knoxville by Poutine Mobile, a food truck dedicated to disco fries.
June 27: Whoopie Pie Eating Contest
Maine loves its whoopies pies and this regional festival calls on kids, teens, and adults alike to wolf down the sweet, sandwiched treat.
June 28: Cheese Curd Contest
Wisconsin’s 14th annual curds festival ends on a cheesy note (sorry, we had to) with this eating contest among young fromage lovers ages 7 to 18.
June 28: Strawberry Shortcake Eating Contest
The Bellevue Strawberry Festival in Washington highlights not just the fruit, but the biscuit and whipped, cream, too. Do you think you could handle that many layers?
JULY
July 4: Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest
Every year since 1916, thousands of fans flock to Coney Island to see the famous frank vendor host this international hot-dog bonanza.
July 4: Jalapeño Eating Contest
Round Rock, Texas heat ups the competition—literally—with the fired up green chiles at this gorging game.
July 5: SPAM Eating Contest
Take part in the Crustacean Celebration for Maryland’s minor league team, the Blue Crabs, to watch as one winner in the meaty showdown takes home a supermarket shopping spree—hopefully not for more SPAM.
July 10: Mashed Potato Eating Contest
It’s a messy endeavor but both kids and adults don’t mind chowing down on mashed ‘taters during this Gaelic festical put on by the Irish-American Heritage Center in Chicago, where there are also contests for the most freckles, best Irish soda bread, and Celtic singing.
July 10: Pierogi Eating Challenge
Drawing a crowd that hails equally from from Michigan, Ohio, and Illinois, this Polish festival includes polka music and dancers and a beer tent in addition to the potato-and-cheese dumpling eating contest.
July 11: Lobster Roll Eating Contest
Lobster-loving chowhounds gather in Salem, Mass. to wolf down the New England favorite at the Salem Willows Seafood Festival, where there’s plenty more sea fare where that came from, including vendors hawking chowder, shrimp, clams, and scallops.
July 18: Steak Eating Contest
Think you can take on a surplus of 16-ounce steaks? Contestants in this Arkansas steak eating contest will vie for the title of King or Queen of the ribeye.
July 18: Cannoli Eating Contest
During Milwaukee’s Italian festival, competitors will scarf down cannoli to be crowned champion of the ricotta-filled dessert.
July 29: Bull Testicles Eating Contest
The Testy Festy in Montana is all about testicles, with dirty competitions ranging from an underwear tricycle race to this bull balls eating contest.
AUGUST
August 1: Crawfish Eating Contest
The Tualatin Crawfish Festival in Oregon includes this epicurean competition, where the winner will be called the “Wizard of the Claws.” But the true test is whether they can beat the current record, set in 1970, which is 170 crawfish in 15 minutes.
August 8: Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich Eating Contest
This one’s for the kiddos. To celebrate the 34th annual South Carolina peanut party, the school-lunch standby gets put in the spotlight.
August 8: Thickburger Eating Contest
At the Hamburger Festival in Seymour, Wisconsin—the self-proclaimed home of the patty—this burger-eating contest follows a family-recipe burger contest. It should be a sizzling good time.
August 8: Ice-Cream Eating Contest
Talk about brain freeze. Contestants will spoon their way through scoop after scoop during this frozen match at Gurnee, Indiana’s Gurnee Days.
August 15: Garlic Eating Contest
Dubbed the “You Stink” contest in Albuquerque, New Mexico, this competition is the organizers’ way of “celebrating one of the healthiest foods around.”
August 15: Dairy Queen Dilly Bar Eating Contest
Competitors with a sweet tooth will munch their way through Dairy Queen’s chocolate-covered soft serve pops at Wisconsin’s Sawyer County Agricultural Fair, which debuted in 1907.
August 22: Gyoza Eating Contest
This week-long fête honors all things Japanese, taking place in the Little Tokyo neighborhood of Los Angeles and including this contest among gyoza-loving chowhounds. (For those who favor Chinese cuisine, gyoza are the Japanese iteration of dumplings).
August 29: Bacon Eating Contest
What bacon festival would be complete without an all-you-can-eat bacon competition? This pork-fest in Carroll County, Indiana also includes a cook-off, beer from local breweries, and live tunes.
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