On Saturday, 10 hungry competitors will be given 10 minutes to see just how many hot dogs they can eat. Old Shawnee Days sponsorships chair Patrick Moltane said a total of 300 hot dogs were being prepared for the competition.
“It'll be interesting to see if there are leftovers,” Moltan told KCUR's Up To Date. “And if so, how many actually survive the contest.”
The competition, which will take place on the main stage of Old Shawnee Days at 6 p.m. Saturday night, acts as a qualifier for the Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest.
Shawnee's winner will receive an invitation to compete in the international contest's final round, which is held on Coney Island in New York City every July 4.
Richard Shea, President of Major League Eating, the world body that oversees all professional eating contests in the U.S. and Canada, says that competition will be fierce. He says the Old Shawnee Days will welcome eaters from around the world, hungry for their ticket.
“You’re going to have a guy there named Radim Dvořáček from the Czech Republic,” says Shea. “He's on the road doing this worldwide. So he's refined his skill when it comes to eating hot dogs.”
Shea says that winners at other qualifying events have already eaten as much as 47 hot dogs in 10 minutes just to get to the finals.
While the spectacle of the contest is expected to draw higher attendance to the festival, Old Shawnee Days stress that people should arrive early due to how quickly it will be over. After all, it's not called "10 minutes to glory" for nothing.
“We want to make sure that people interested in seeing the event know that if they're there after 6:30 p.m., they're probably not going to see anybody eat a hot dog,” says Moltane.
So get there before 6 p.m., Moltane says, "and we expect to have a good crowd gathered to cheer on the eaters.”
Organizers also stress that the contest will be just one 30-minute slice of a much larger festival. Old Shawnee Days will feature a myriad of free community attractions including carnival rides, petting zoos, pony rides and dozens of local artisan vendors.
“We just encourage people to come on out and partake in the fun,” says Moltane. “This is definitely a ‘the more, the merrier’ sort of occasion!”
Old Shawnee Days runs this year through Sunday, June 8. You can find more information about the festival at oldshawneedays.org.
- Patrick Moltane, Old Shawnee Days sponsorship chair
- Richard Shea, President of Major League Eating
