National Buffalo Wing Festival kicks off this weekend

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — The Buffalo Wing Festival kicks off this weekend and attendees from all over the country have opinions on the Buffalo staple.

“I’m a big flat guy,” said Trent Weitzel, owner of Double Dub’s in Wyoming. “But I like all the parts of the wing.”

“I am into flats more than drums,” said founder of the National Buffalo Wing Festival, Drew Cerza. “I don’t know why. They’re just more fun. I’m an equal opportunist but the key question is dipper or non-dipper. I am a non-dipper because I want to taste the true flavor of the wing and just experience that.”

No matter which type of chicken wing you prefer, this weekend you can try a variety of 127 sauces served around the nation during the National Buffalo Wing Festival.

“This became the industry’s Superbowl,” said Cerza. “The chicken wing restaurants, foods and people that love wings from across the country. So this is it, Labor Day weekend.”

From the traditional sauces to trying something new like the KSS Big Mac chicken wing, here at Highmark Stadium they’ll be cooking up 15 tons of chicken wings all while celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Buffalo staple.

“This is the mecca of wings,” said Dan Apolito, owner of Archers Tavern in Ohio. “You get to work around the greatest guys, I mean to meet these guys it’s just awesome.”

“It’s a chance to get out and meet people,” said Mark Ebeling, owner and manager of Danny’s in Orchard Park. “And trying to get some other business and just meet and greet out of town people that come here.”

While some traveled 20 seconds down the road, others traveled more than 20 hours to arrive in Orchard Park. For Trent Weitzel from Wyoming, he traveled 26 hours to serve what he says is Josh Allen’s favorite wing back in Wyoming, but also to try to be a “festival favorite” three years in a row.

“Just the people out here in Buffalo, I mean it’s the home of the chicken wing,” Weitzel said. “This is where chicken wings came from, this is the Buffalo wing so we like to be in this atmosphere.”

This year, the festival has some new ideas on the menu.

They’re adding an Armed Forces Night on Saturday from 6 till 9 p.m. where they will have free admission for veterans and active military.

They also have new QR codes where people can vote for their favorite wing and they’re adjusting the layout of the festival where foods and activities are on the main concourse, but you can still walk around the field.

For more information about the festival, click here.

Hope Winter is a reporter and multimedia journalist who has been part of the News 4 team since 2021. See more of her work here .