09/08/2012

Qualifying rounds being held now at select locations around Nashville!

Some like it hot—their chicken wings, that is! The Music City Festival & BBQ Championship, to be held August 24 and 25 at Riverfront Park, is pleased to announce that a hot wing eating competition, sponsored by Hooters, has been added to the list of events festival-goers can enjoy! Qualifying rounds are currently being held at various Hooters locations around Nashville every Wednesday at 7 p.m. The top-three competitors at each location will advance to the semi-finals, to be held at 7 p.m. on Friday, August 24. The final contestants will compete in the Hooters Hot Wing Eating Championship at 5 p.m. on Saturday, August 25, with the hopes of winning a coveted Big Green Egg outdoor cooker valued at $1000 and earning the title of the Music City Festival & BBQ Competition and Hooters “Wing King.” For more information on the Music City Festival & BBQ Competition, please visit www.musiccitybbqfestival.com.

Hot wing lovers have a chance to compete August 8 at Hooters Harding Place, August 15 at Hooters Murfreesboro and August 22 at Hooters Nashville on Second Avenue. Each qualifying round begins at 7 p.m. The three contestants at each location who eat 10 hot wings the fastest will receive a t-shirt and two tickets for admission into the Music City Festival & BBQ Championship and will advance to the semi-finals on August 24. Contestants may compete at multiple locations if they do not make it past a qualifying round.

The Music City Festival & BBQ Championship, which truly offers something for everybody, will host thousands of fun-loving Nashvillians ready to “make pigs of themselves”—all in the name of charity.  Grill masters from all over the nation will face off in “tong-to-tong” competition for more than $25,000 in cash and prizes.  A multi-genre music lineup is sure to make the crowds go “hog wild,” with headliners that include quintessential American rock bands Grand Funk Railroad and The Fabulous Thunderbirds featuring Kim Wilson, as well as the new addition of GRAMMY® Award-Winning Country artist David Ball, joined by his band The Pioneer Playboys.  A selection of R&B, Jazz and Blues will be presented by the Nashville Blues Society.  In addition to the Hooters Hot Wing Eating Championship, guests can also enjoy a Cool Cars & Hot Bikes Show, FADD’s Party Bus Kids Zone with interactive play, balloon artists and gaming bus, an old-fashioned Biergarten complete with a variety of craft beers and the Music City Corn Hole Tournament. As just one of only four events this year scheduled for the new Lawn at Riverfront, this family-friendly event is a 501c3 not-for-profit fundraiser to benefit the Wounded Warrior Project and Shriners Hospitals for Children. Tickets for the festival can be purchased for as little as $15 at www.musiccitybbqfestival.com.

Nashville’s “Days of Swine & Noses” will start with the Swine Ball (the official kick-off party for the festival) to be held from 7-11 p.m. on August 11 at the Silver Dollar Saloon (110 Second Avenue North).  Sponsored by the Cumberland Hospitality Group, this delightfully tacky event is the middle class answer to the galas and balls of Nashville’s elite and will feature music by Mel & The Party Hats, a Hog Calling Contest, the presentation of this year’s Grand Ole Porker (G.O.P.) Humanitarian Award and much more.  A thirty year tradition, these porcine festivities will be emceed by Fox 17 veteran Kelly Sutton and will benefit the Culinary Arts Scholarship Fund at Nashville State Community College, which has a 100 percent placement rate for graduating students.

Both the Music City Festival & BBQ Championship and the Swine Ball are designed to give attendees the opportunity to support charitable organizations while enjoying great food and entertainment.  Over the last three years, these events have donated more than $28,000 to charity.

About Music City Festival & BBQ Championship:
Established in 2008, the Music City Festival & BBQ Championship combines live music, great food and charitable giving and is held annually in downtown Nashville.  Along with entertainment featuring headlining artists, the Music City Festival & BBQ Championship is also one of the few BBQ competitions in the United States sanctioned by both the Memphis BBQ Network and the Kansas City BBQ Society and therefore, has the biggest footprint of any current festival in Riverfront Park.  Each and every year, the committee selects one or two charities of choice and supports them with a portion of proceeds from each festival. So far, the Music City Festival & BBQ Championship has donated over $28,000 to these selected charities.    

About Hooters: 
Hooters is a casual beach-theme establishment featuring “oldies” jukebox music, sports on television and a menu that includes seafood, sandwiches, salads and spicy chicken wings delivered by attractive, vivacious Hooters Girls. 

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