Registration open for World Tamale Eating Championship during Lewisville’s Western Days
(Lewisville) August 15, 2012 – Registration is now open for the eighth annual World Tamale Eating Championship scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 29, during the Western Days festival in Old Town Lewisville.
The event, organized by the Lewisville Convention and Visitors Bureau and officially sanctioned by Major League Eating, will pay a total purse of $3,500 to the top six finishers. The contest will start at 1:15 p.m. on the front steps of Lewisville City Hall, 151 W. Church Street. Registration will be conducted online at ifoce.com.
Dats Good BBQ, a family-owned Lewisville resident, is the event sponsor and will provide the traditional pork tamales.
The current world record is held by Tim “Eater X” Janus of New York City, currently ranked third in the world by Major League Eating. Janus is a four-time winner of the tamale championship and holds the top all-time mark of 71 tamales consumed in 12 minutes, a result that won the 2007 title.
The inaugural World Tamale Eating Championship was held during the Bassmaster Elite 50 Country Fair at Lewisville Lake in June 2005 and was won by Levi Oliver of Austin, who established a world record by eating 36 tamales in 10 minutes, 30 seconds. He remains the only Texan to win the world title in tamales.
Oliver’s record was beaten in May of the following year in Houston by Chip “Burger” Simpson of Pennsylvania before being broken by Janus in Lewisville in 2006 and again in 2007. The 2008 championship was won by Patrick Vandam of Minnesota, that season’s “Rookie of the Year” honoree. The 2009 event saw Juliet Lee of Germantown, Maryland, eat 48 tamales in 12 minutes to become the first female champion.
In 2010, Janus returned after a two-year absence to reclaim his crown by eating 59 tamales in 12 minutes, edging out fellow world-class eater Sonya “Black Widow” Thomas by just three tamales. He again won the competition in 2011, falling just short of his own world record by eating 67 tamales, 11 better than runner-up Matt Stonie.
MLE is the governing body of all stomach-centric sports, conducting more than 70 events annually including the Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest in Coney Island, N.Y. The competitive eating community, which numbers more than 3,000 veteran and rookie athletes, travels the nation in search of top titles and the glory that they provide.
The world Tamale Eating Championship is part of a full two-day schedule of activities planned for Western Days 2012, designed to showcase Lewisville’s rich history. Other offerings include the best of Texas country music and local performers on three live stages, arts and crafts vendors, gunfight re-enactments, trick ropers, cooking demonstrations, car show, children’s fishing area, Tailwaggers Ranch pet zone, First Choice Power Food Court, a Stickhorse Rodeo for kids, and a special exhibit of Western art and sculpture at the MCL Grand.
The festival is free, but a ticket is required. Free tickets will be available starting Sept. 5 at the festival website, LewisvilleWesternDays.com, and through entertainment sponsor 99.5 The Wolf. Festival schedule is 7-11:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 28, and 10 a.m.-11:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 29. Main stage headliners are Randy Rogers on Friday and Josh Abbott on Saturday.
Sponsors for Western Days 2012 include City of Lewisville, Lewisville Convention and Visitors Bureau, First Choice Power, Castle Hills, Denton County Transportation Authority, Dats Good BBQ, TIAA-CREF, The Apparel Group, Time Warner Cable, Chase, Horizon Health, Orthofix, Vinson Process Controls, Bud Light and 99.5 The Wolf. Community supporters include Old Town Business Association, Old Town Preservation Society, Lewisville Morning Rotary Club and Greater Lewisville Kiwanis Club.
For the latest information on Western Days 2012, visit LewisvilleWesternDays.com or call 972.219.3401.
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Submitted by James Kunke, City of Lewisville.
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