The event, presented by the Greater Springfield Partnership and Woeber’s Mustard, packed in competitions from wiener dog races to hot dog eating contests with plenty of Woeber’s condiments and everything mustard to close out the final days of summer 2025.
Meeting an eating legend
Barr, a 2024 Graham High School graduate who was studying at Ohio State University before health issues interrupted, was excited to meet Chestnut, who has more than 55 eating records and reclaimed his Mustard Belt at the Nathan’s Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest on July Fourth.
“Every man on Earth knows who he is,” Barr said prior to the meeting and related his own personal best eating record of nearly 30 chicken wings in one sitting.
Chestnut, who lives in Indiana, jumped at the chance to return to MustardFEST, where he helped emcee Saturday’s competitions and met visitors with the Mustard Belt slung over his shoulder, posing for photos.
“It’s close, and there are happy people here. And I only had to eat one or two hot dogs here last time,” he joked about his eagerness to return.
Barr and Chestnut struck up a conversation over Barr’s t-shirt, which was from Casa Bonita, a Mexican restaurant in Colorado that has a place in pop culture. Barr came away with an autograph, photo with Chestnut and a big smile.
“It feels good to get back to normal life for Blake,” said Amberly Baumgardt, Barr’s mom. They also took in Woeber’s mustard samplings and the eating contest, happy for a complete day out.
Chestnut also swapped recipe and seasoning ideas with Frank Robinette of Springfield and greeted 3-year-old Oliver Flynn, who was wearing a hot dog costume just for the occasion.
Oliver’s parents Jeff and Katie Flynn got a taste of MustardFEST last year, and Jeff Flynn said when he tells others of the event, they give a funny look, but it’s worth it.
“We love seeing the community come together in a welcoming atmosphere,” he said. The Flynns were hoping to take in a little of everything on Saturday.
‘More kick to the flavor’
The hot mustard and horseradish contest saw competitors eating hot dogs containing condiments that got hotter for each of the 10 dogs they had to consume, with the ultimate 10X horseradish. They also faced doing this against temperatures hovering in the upper 80s.
Jack Legath of Cleveland defended his title, earning a MustardFEST belt and a $250 cash prize. Although he lapped the field, Legath confessed it wasn’t as easy as it looked.
“There was more kick to the flavor in the condiments on those last few,” he said.
A student at Ohio University, Legath is building a reputation as an Ohio version of Chestnut, setting a record in a hot dog eating contest in West Virginia and consumed 114 donut holes in four minutes, and he’s done challenges involving pizza and hamburgers. He created a Facebook page, Jack Eatzz, capturing his food adventures.
Placing second and third were Josh Goodloe and Sean Moorman, respectively.
Dogs strutting their stuff
The Champion City Wiener Dog Race became the grand finale of MustardFEST 2025. There were 44 contestants with regular names like Charlie and Oscar to exotic like Charming Ravioli, Vinnie Bobarino and Quill Starlord. Several strutted their stuff on Friday evening at the Wiener Dog Pageant, which returned after several years.
The hottest wiener dogs were first-place finisher Dixie, who finally won after a second-place finish in 2023 and third place in 2024. Michael A. placed second and Smokey third.
Lowell Clark took first for the men’s division and Michaela Frew for the women in the Ohio U.S. Steinholding Championship Qualifier on Friday. They’ll represent Mother Stewart’s at the state finals on Oct. 18.
Placing second and third for the women’s division were and Sue Daniel and Melissa Tuttle for the women.
Also on Friday, the first Grain to Glass event was a success with attendees enjoying the new addition of a beer flight paired with small dishes from Chef Lisa Freeman from Torte and Iron Café, said Kristina Jarrell, Greater Springfield Partnership downtown events coordinator.
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