Last year was the start of a new festival in Peoria and it sold out quicker than you can say, “Motherclucker!” It was a festival that celebrated all things chicken wings and it was such a success they decided to do it again this year and it happened last Sunday. If you missed it or were there and want to revisit the celebration, here’s the highlights from this year’s Second Annual Peoria Wingfest!
Here we are at the Second Annual Peoria Wingfest on the riverfront in downtown Peoria! I came down with my friends, Amber and Joe and we were waved in by Scott and Megan and in we go! Before we got to the inner sanctum of wingdom, we met the official Peoria Wingfest mascot and he posed for the MBIP Camera with Amber and Joe! Cluck yeah!
We then ran into Bill and Susan Morton! Biil’s the GM of Lexus of Peoria, who’s one of the big sponsors for this festival of wings, so if you’d like to support the people who support this celebration, go on out to Lexus and check out the cars there. Mention that you saw this on the MBIP blog and this guy might just give you a good deal! Okay, we’ve got our chicken wing punch cards and time to head in and let the festivities begin. Below are pictures and highlights from our time at The Second Annual Peoria Wingfest!
The Park
The Peoria Wingfest is held at the James W. Baldwin Festival Park. It’s got a nice riverfront view and as you can see, it was all filled up with chicken wing lovers! The lines were long, but they moved quickly and the crowd was having a great time. Personally I wish there would’ve been more clouds in the sky to shield me from that rotten sunshine, but hey, what are you going to do?
The Liquid Refreshments
You have to have something to wash down your chicken wings with and while there was soft drinks and water, the preferred drink of choice at this wingy celebration is beer! Luckily there was a beer truck located over here courtesy of Brewers Distributing. There was a nice choice of beers to choose from, including good old Budweiser!
The Vendors
There was a nice assortment of bars and restaurants participating in this years Wingfest and here’s the list of them: Kenny’s Westside Pub, Country Club BBQ, The Fieldhouse, Peacock’s Pub, Old Chicago, Castaways, McMahon’s Pints & Plates, Nelson’s Catering, JJ’s Big Fish and Chicken, Cheese Nuts Brickoven Pizzeria, Whitey’s BBQ, Kouri’s Pub, HyVee, Kelleher’s Irish Pub & Eatery, The Boiler Room, The Local Grille & Bar and The Publik House. There were four prizes they were all vying for and if you keep scrolling you can see who won this year!
The People
As you saw in the photos above, there was a huge crowd here and tickets were sold out hours after they went on sale! Here’s just some of the smiling and friendly faces that posed for the roving MBIP Camera!
The Live Band
The live music was provided by the well-known and popular local band, Three and a Half Men. If you haven’t heard them live, you can check them out at their website and on facecrack! Great job rocking out, guys!
The Wings
Of course the star of the show for the day are the thousands of chicken wings that were cooked, fried and/or barbecued and the crowd happily devoured them! So who walked away with the day’s top prizes? Well, you’re just about to find out...
The Winners
The winners for this year were, from top: Kenny’s Westside Pub for best Exotic Wings; Country Club BBQ for Best Traditional Wings; The Fieldhouse for Hottest Wings and Castaways for Best in Show. Congratulations to this year’s quartet of winners!
The End
And as the chicken wings turned to bones, the bowls and pots empty and the garbage cans fill up, it’s time for the Second Annual Peoria Wingfest to come to an end. Hmm...”No Alcohol Beyond This Point,” wow, I just got hit with a deja vu moment from just about a year ago! (Inside joke alert!) Thanks to everyone connected to this year’s Peoria Wingfest! It was a clucking great time and I’m already looking forward to next year’s wingy celebration! We’ll see you all tomorrow!
Related Posts: The First Annual Peoria Wingfest!