UPCOMING PA AREA EATING CONTESTS

I was putting Google through its paces and was able to dig up a whole slew of local eating contests coming up during the remainder of the year. I love small town contests. The intimate crowds. The feeling of "invading" someone else's turf. The plucked-from-the-crowd competitors. The chance of winning.

In the interesting of sharing the competitive fire (and hoping others will do the same), here's the contests I found and hope to make it to this year.

• Heritage Days Potato Pancake Eating Contest (Nanticoke, Pa.) (August 8-11) (not sure which day)

• Fourth Annual Hamburg-er Festival Hamburger Eating Contest (Hamburg, Pa.) (September 1) (I've visited this festival in the past. An entire day dedicated to the hamburger. Can't argue with that.)

• Baltimore Ukrainian Festival Pierogie Eating Contest (September 8-9) (not sure which day)

• Chili Pepper Food Festival Chili Pepper Eating Contest (Bowers, Pa.) (September 8-9) (not sure which day)

• New Freedom Fest Pie Eating Contest (New Freedom, Pa.) (September 22)

• Taste of Little Italy Pasta Eating Contest (Baltimore, Md.) (September 23) (This one was won by Wing Tut last year and features some sweet prizes.)

• Whoopie Pie Festival Whoopie Pie Eating Contest (Lancaster, Pa.) (October 20) (Will Hickman be back to defend his title?)

Supposedly there's an annual pancake eating contest at Pete's Grill in Baltimore. According to this article it's something of a mid-November tradition. Pay to enter, big prize to the winner, but I can't seem to find any details about it in 2007. I'm also going to lean on our local hot dog joint to sponsor another hot dog eating contest (which my brother won last year) and our local wing joint to do another wing contest (which I won last year).

In the interest of sharing, if anyone knows of any other eating contests in the northern Maryland and Pennsylvania area, let me know. A tiny part of me considered hoarding the information about these contests for myself. Less competition means a better chance of winning, you know. But then I thought (and this may sound cheesy) that I'd rather lose to friends than win against a bunch of strangers. As for winning against friends? That's even better.

UPDATE: Thanks to Ian for passing these contests along:

• Christmas Cookie Eating Contest in Entriken, Pa. (Lake Raystown) (August 10-11) (not sure which day)
• Something in Allegheny County on August 17 (not sure what it is)