Large turnout, change of venue make Wing.A.Ma.Jig a success
Saturday dawned with a clear blue sky and a light breeze, a good omen for the Saline County Chamber of Commerce's third annual Wing.A.Ma.Jig.
Held this year at the Saline County Fairground, the Wing.A.Ma.Jig opened the gates at noon and saw an initially good attendance swell to a peak of over three hundred people by mid-afternoon.
The enticing aroma of barbecued chicken wings wafted downwind, enveloping the crowd with mouth-watering scents. The sounds of music from the DJ and the happy chatter of a contented multitude rode the cool breeze and all present were happily munching on an assortment of tasty treats, mostly scrumptious chicken wings as they perused the goods in the craft vendors booths.
Young children happily hurled themselves on the assortment of inflatable bouncy houses, a towering slide and obstacle course, provided by Southern Illinois Inflatables.
Attendees said the change of venue was a definite plus this year, with the shade of the trees at the fairground and several large tents covering tables and chairs offered a respite from the sun and a spot for the throng to rest their legs and place for their brimming cups of cold drinks and plates piled high with chicken wings ranging in spiciness from savory mild to roaring hot.
"We definitely made a good decision on this year's location," said Mayor Dale Fowler. "We have very good attendance and I think the Wing.A.Ma.Jig is a success again this year."
Eight teams competed in the wing cook-off this year with the crowd sampling their offerings throughout the afternoon prior to the cook-off judging. The team lead by Eric Van Zandt and Shane Street took the first in both hot and mild categories and the Legence Bank team for the second year in a row claimed the People's Choice Award.
Curt Hustedde and his DJ show provided catchy tunes for the crowd with the bands Darling Parade and Giovanni Jones taking the stage after the wing eating contest, and it was the Ponderosa Wing Eating Contest that provided perhaps the most fun of the afternoon.
Eleven contestants, nine men and two women, took their place at the long table in front of the stage to compete to see who could engulf the most wings in two minutes. With bottles of water or glasses of a tasty beverage before them, the competitors listened to Mayor Fowler's quick outline of the rules.
"You all have two minutes to eat as many wings as you can," Fowler told the anxious eaters. "Remember, you must strip each wing to the bone for it to count and good luck to you!"
As the countdown from ten reached zero, each of the brave competitors dove into the plates piled high with wings which sat on the table before them. Looks of grim determination vied with expressions of doubt, concentration and looks of plain enjoyment as they gnawed their way through wing after wing, occasional gulping from their cups or bottles to wash down their tidbits of spicy goodness.
For the first time in the three year history of the Wing-A-Ma-Jig, there was a tie when the timer reached zero and the bones on each plate were counted. Two men then faced the challenge of being the first one to finish just five more wings. At the word go, willing teeth munched franticly away and it was Jhove Enciso who striped five wings to the bone to take the win and the $50 cash prize. With a happy, sauce stained grin, Enciso acknowledged the cheers of the crowd as he wiped the sweat from his brow and sauce from his mouth.
As the live music of Darling Parade filled the air, the happy crowd drifted back to the food, drink and craft vendors or just settled into seats under the tents or at picnic tables to enjoy the fun of the late afternoon at the Chamber of Commerce's third annual Wing-A-Ma-Jig.