The world’s largest chicken wing festival, Wing Fest, is making its debut appearance in the South West this September 11th and 12th at Bristol’s Lloyds Amphitheatre.
Following in the footsteps of its popular London and Manchester counterparts, Bristol Wing Fest will showcase a range of restaurants, street food traders and pop-ups, displaying their culinary talents and competing against each other over an impressive 80,000 drums and flats (priced at £1 each) to answer the question: who makes the best wings in the UK?
There are two competitions over the weekend: Best Buffalo Wing, where traders compete to see who can execute the perfect classic spicy sauce, and Best Wild Wing, where competitors let their creativity run wild with their own choice of flavours and toppings.
Traders include Chicken George, the current reigning wing champions; local favourite Gurt Wings; and jerk connoisseurs Tasty Ragga, plus many more. 6,000 chicken wing fans will be there over the course of the weekend, and will all have the opportunity to cast their votes live across each of the two categories via text message.
There are competitions for ticket holders to get involved in too. First up, the Lava Wing Challenge hosted by Clifton Chilli Club – the UK’s hottest wing challenge, renowned for the carnage it causes. There’s also the Bull’s-Eye Wing Eating Competition, hosted by the Food Review Club – a messy challenge with ticket holders competing against each other to see who can eat the most chicken wings.
At Bristol Wing Fest, you can also expect plenty of beer from Meantime Brewery; entertainment which includes live blues music, brass bands, bourbon masterclasses, axe throwing and BBQ cookery demonstrations; as well as DJs playing summer party tunes into the night.
Tickets are now on sale from the Bristol Wing Fest website, priced from £17.50 for early birds and £20 thereafter, with kids under 12 going free. Tickets include a Wing Fest signature trucker hat, free access to the fairground rides, plus live music, competitions, masterclasses, cooking demonstrations and games.