The 17th Annual Hudson Valley WingFest
This past weekend, on Saturday, February 3rd, Famous Food Events held their 17th annual Hudson Valley WingFest at the Mid-Hudson Civic Center. Sponsored by Jarritos, Two Brothers Hardscape, and iHeart Radio, the event was packed with restaurant and food vendors from all over the Hudson Valley, filled with games, prizes, and live entertainment from great bands including 1 Wild Night- a Bon Jovi tribute band. Following the event, Famous Food Events said “(We are) Extremely supportive of all the local places who participated and here’s to you wing nation!”
VIP ticket holders were granted entry at 3:30 p.m., followed by general admission at 5:00 p.m. With 22 wing vendors in attendance, each having their own stand that lined the perimeter of the event, ticket holders were allowed 2 wings per stand. Each guest was given a card to track which stands they’ve visited and to use for their vote for “Best Wing” and “Most Creative Wing”.
The event’s guest judges were the partners of the “Wing Addicts” blog: Tommy Wyatt, Doni the Cleaner and Ryan the Wing Chef. The awards they were judging for included: Overall Best Wings, Best BBQ Wing, Hottest Wing, Best Boozy Wing, Most Creative Wing, Best Decorated Booth, and Best Dessert Wing. The last category they judged on Saturday was “Hottest Wing”, which Tommy says “never again;” he said that AJ’s Cafe of Wappingers Falls had the spiciest wing by far stating, “the three of us signed a waiver releasing them from any responsibility should we die on the spot.”
AJ’s Cafe is now the reigning champion for Spiciest Wing for the 9th year in a row. Following their victory, they posted on FaceBook saying “we really hurt people this year. Sorry not sorry. You’re welcome for burning your butt’s for 9 years!”
The big award of “Best Overall Wing” went to The Sweet Onion BrewHouse, who also took the home title of “Most Creative Wing”. The sauces they offered were: Brown Sugar Espresso, Loaded Sweet Onion, Italian Combo, and “Barbie Era”. They thanked their head chef by saying, “Being that we’re in our Barbie Era now, we all know that sometimes you just need a good Ken by your side. Chef John — thanks for being our Ken day in and day out in our crazy Barbie world.”
Vendors love returning year after year to compete for the title of “The Best Wing”, and residents love attending and make it a tradition to come each year. “This is my third time coming, and I have fun every time,” says Hudson Valley Resident, Barbara Negro.
The Civic Center was packed with people from all over the Hudson Valley to try the best wings in the area. Not only did the event have over 20 different wing stands, but it also had: a pickle stand, a tomato sauce stand, a dessert stand, an empanada stand, and a Jarritos stand. The event was filled with people of all ages enjoying “Hudson Valley’s Best”. From beer stands provided by local breweries to a huge lemonade stand, there was truly something for everyone, and the best part of all, every vendor was Hudson Valley based.
By Emmanuela Panepinto
