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With such a renowned and eclectic food scene here in Manchester, there’s no better place to host a foodie festival, including one dedicated to everything chicken wings. The world’s largest chicken wing festival, Wing Fest is returning to the city once more, but at a new location, to pay homage to one of the top poultry dishes.
Taking place on September 20, 21 and 22 at Victoria Baths for the very first time, the venue will be transformed into a poultry eating, music thumping, axe throwing, beer and bourbon drinking space of epic proportion. This year will continue the format inspired by the classic beer festival with Manchester Wing Fest will be divided into sessions with reduced capacity, starting with a Friday evening, followed by daytime and evening sessions on the Saturday, and finishing with a bang on Sunday. This means less time waiting, more wings, and a more seamless festival experience.
Manchester Wing Fest will showcase a range of restaurants, street food traders and pop-ups, who will display their culinary talents and compete against each other over a whopping 100,000 drums and flats, costing £1.25 per wing, to decide who really makes the best wings in the UK.
The competition will be split into three categories: the best buffalo wing; the battle for who can execute the perfect classic spicy sauce, and the best wild wing; where the traders can let their creativity run wild with flavours and toppings to transform a humble chicken wing into a flavour explosion. Plus there’s a new category introduced in 2023; the best BBQ wing.
The Manchester festival will see an insane amount of wings served by 10 different street food traders, restaurants and BBQ teams. Popular Manchester traders such as Yard and Coop will be there, plus you’ll have the chance to discover new wings from all around the UK, including returning champs, Eat The Bird. All will be competing to win your vote and guarantee their spot in the Hall of Flame.
Wing Fest’s competitions will be held across the weekend, and it’s set to get seriously heated with a deadly Lava Wing Challenge hosted by Clifton Chilli Club – the UK’s hottest wing challenge and renowned for the carnage it causes. If you’re a true wing aficionado, then it’s time for the Sweet Baby Ray’s Wing Eating competition hosted by Food Review Club, where ticket holders who are hungry and brave enough, compete against each other to see who can eat the most chicken wings. It’s going to get messy, is all we’re going to say…
Manchester Wing Fest goers can also expect plenty of beer from Tiny Rebel, some of the best bourbon around from Horse With No Name, and whiskey from Jameson Black Barrel. Entertainment includes axe throwing, beer puppeteers, chicken pinatas, doughnut eating challenges, alongside live music – complete with a wing in hand no less.
Tickets are now available on the Wing Fest website and start from £19.50 (Friday evening session, over 18s only) and kids under 12 go free. Plus, your ticket also includes a signature Wing Fest trucker style hat to immerse you fully in the event, free access to entertainment, axe throwing, competitions and live music.