“MustardFEST is our hometown tradition, just like Troy has strawberries and Circleville has pumpkins, Springfield celebrates mustard, made right here by our own heritage company, Woeber’s,” said Kristina Jarrell, Greater Springfield Partnership downtown events programmer.
Festivities will start at 6 p.m. Friday with the return of the wiener dog pageant for the first time in several years, in which many of the competitors of Saturday’s races will strut their stuff and compete for prizes including fattest, best dressed, longest and king and queen.
A new addition is “From Grain to Glass,” 6:30-7:30 in which for a $20 fee, participants can get a unique tasting menu of small dishes with Woeber’s mustards and foods created by Lisa Freeman of Torte & Iron Café paired with Mother Stewart’s craft beers. There will be three pairings and it is limited to the first 50 attendees; tickets can be pre-purchased or at the event if any remain.
Day one is capped by the second Ohio U.S. Steinholding Championship Qualifier in which competitors can earn a chance to represent the brewery at the state final in October by holding steins of beer the longest. The field is limited to the first 20 men and women who register and the top three placers will earn cash prizes.
Saturday’s events will have a different order than in past years, starting with the return of special guest emcee and world champion eater Joey Chestnut, who will kick things off with the annual MustardFEST keg tapping at 1 p.m. He’ll again meet visitors, sign autographs and pose for photos throughout the day.
“Joey had an absolute blast last year and Woeber’s reached out and he was eager to come back to MustardFEST,” said Jarrell. “He’s cool and super down-to-earth.”
At 2:30, Chestnut will do an eating demonstration and oversee the Woeber’s MustardFEST hot mustard and horse radish eating contest at 3 where the condiments get hotter as the competition goes on to with the coveted Mustard Belt and a cash prize at stake.
Men and women can register at mustard-fest.com
The wiener dog races will now cap off MustardFest at 4 p.m. with more wiener dogs signed up than ever. Jarrell said more than 50 had already registered a week ahead of the race.
“Every year it keeps getting bigger and bigger,” she said. “People were e-mailing us two months ago about it. There’s good interest and people look forward to the light-hearted fun of it.”
Any dachshund of the “low to the ground” variety may enter and registration is free. Competitors will get treats and bandanas and prizes will be awarded to top finishers.
Visitors will also be able to sample a variety of Woeber’s mustards and other condiments, visit Mother Stewart’s beer garden, food trucks and other vendors.
“Be ready to eat and watch wiener dogs this weekend,” Jarrell said.
For more information, go to mustard-fest.com/.
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