Sorting out your mid-August weekend plans? We put together a recent rundown of festivals happening in and around Nashville this month and next, but let’s go a little deeper into one that’s coming up this week, and as our friend TJ points out, might help you live longer: The Music City Hot Wing Festival.
The fest, which kicks off Friday, August 14 in Riverfront Park downtown, is a festive celebration of food, art and live music, and it’s helping a great cause: The Bootstraps Foundation, which helps young Middle Tennesseans better themselves through higher education.
Nashville has more than its share of worthwhile food and drink festivals. Here’s how the Music City Hot Wing Festival stands out in that mix, by the numbers.
2
Days of the festival — Friday brings live music, drinks and local vendors; Saturday brings all of that again, plus the wings, via the festival’s Cooking Competition, and Hot Wing Eating Contest.
80,000
Number of hot wings the festival’s organizers expect to see served on Cooking Competition day.
2,000
Number of dollars the Cooking Competition winners will take home (along with a Big Green Egg grill and a good excuse to brag).
50
Cooking Competition teams expected to be cooking up wings on Saturday.
1,000
Number of people each competing team is expected to cook for.
45
Seconds each Hot Wing Eating Contest contestant has to shovel in those wings.
350
Dollars the Eating Contest champion takes home.
0
Cost to attend the Music City Hot Wing Festival on Friday. Gates open at 4, and you’re invited to enjoy Juhi, Them Vibes, Blackfoot Gypsies and many other performers, and snag food and beer from vendors.
15
What it costs to get through the gates on hot wing Cooking Competition day, Saturday, August 15.
40
Your ticket price for unlimited wings on Saturday.
150
The VIP ticket price, which includes all you can eat wings, all you can drink access to the bar, side stage seating, private bathrooms and more.
Nearly 300
Number of local students who’ve been helped on their way to college by The Bootstraps Foundation scholarships.
If you’re a fan of spicy food, listening to live music, outdoor summer togetherness or all three, this one might be a must-do for your weekend. See you there?
QUICK INFO:
Music City Hot Wing Festival
When: Friday, August 14 starting at 4 p.m.; Saturday, August 15 starting at noon
Where: Riverfront Park, 100 1st Ave. N., Nashville
Tickets: free admission Friday; Saturday, $15 general admission, $40 all-you-can-eat wings pass, $150 VIP weekend pass (12 and under free both days). Buy tickets online here.
More info: MusicCityHotWingFestival.com