America's Best Hamburgers will be in Northeast Ohio!

    AKRON, OH, June 27, 2010 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Akron invites the nation to come back for the Fifth Annual National Hamburger Festival. After drawing more than 25,000 people in 2009, the fun, food and friendly competition will resume at Lock 3 Park on Saturday, July 17 and Sunday, July 18, complete with live music and quirky burger-themed games. The festival will once again support the Akron Children's Hospital. Festival hours are Saturday, July 17 from noon to 11 p.m. and Sunday, July 18 from noon to 7 p.m. Tickets will be sold at the gate for $5 per person. Admission is free for children under 48 inches tall. Food and beverages will be sold separately.

Fueled by controversy among four different cities over whom invented the hamburger, a 45-minute mock trial, coined the "Hamburger Hearings," was held the first year of the festival and resulted in a hung jury. A subsequent online vote named Seymour, Wisconsin, as the hamburger's home.

Still, the hunger for chargrilled glory pervades far beyond the inventors' rivalry. Restaurants will vie for bragging rights in five different categories of the National Burger Cook-Off as twenty eateries will serve more than 50 different varieties of burgers. Check out www.hamburgerfestival.com for an updated listing of the participating restaurants.

The competitive spirit will continue with the Miss Hamburger Pageant, the Baby Burger Contest and the Ohio Burger Cook-Off for backyard grillers. Things will really get cooking as three goggle-adorned enthusiasts go "Bobbing for Burgers," a hit from 2009 in which burger fans seek foam hamburger patties in a kiddy pool filled with ketchup. The Ohio Hamburger Eating Championship will also be held again. Last year's winner, Akron competitive eating legend David "Coondog" O'Karma, will return for a third year to defend his title and challenge all eaters to a hamburger eat-off.

The festival will feature live music all weekend. On Saturday afternoon guitarist Jon Mosey will entertain the festival crowd from 2 -4 p.m. followed by a tribute to Carlos Santana by Evil Ways. Lock 3 Park will turn into a big party atmosphere on Saturday night with Satisfaction performing a tribute to the Rolling Stones. Sunday afternoon will feature 45 RPM bringing their classic rock and R&B dance show to the festival.

"We are thrilled to have the National Hamburger Festival return to Akron for its fifth year," said Akron Mayor Don Plusquellic. "The outcome of the Hamburger Hearings' notwithstanding, we are the City of Invention, and that includes the invention of the hamburger. Come to Akron. Sample this delicious event AND our city."

In addition to the more than 50 different hamburger varieties from 18 eateries, there will be other Akron-favorite foods, with the restaurants set up on Main Street adjacent to Lock 3 Park. Kids will have plenty to do, as well, with inflatable rides and even a Kid Zone that will include arts and crafts.

Balloon artist and magician Dennis Regling will be back to dazzle the crowd with his balloon artistry. New this year is nationally recognized game show host, "The Quiz Master" Dennis George to perform several shows of trivia and family fun.

"Akron is the perfect place for this great national festival," said Drew Cerza, founder of the event and president/CEO of Just Wing It Productions. He cited Akron's Americanism and housing of the National Inventor's Hall of Fame, branding the city the "Hamburger Capital of the World."

The festival supports Akron Children's Hospital. A one-of-a-kind National Hamburger Festival Jughead comic book (part of the Archie Comic Book Series) will be available with a donation to the Akron Children's Hospital. Akron Children's Hospital cares for about 500,000 patients each year and performs more pediatric surgeries than any other hospital in northeast Ohio. Children's operates a 253-bed pediatric hospital in downtown Akron, housing a regional burn center for both adults and children, a pediatric trauma center, regional neonatal and pediatric intensive care units and more than 30 clinical specialties. Children's also operates the Beeghly Campus in Boardman, a free-standing children's hospital with a 32-bed inpatient unit. In addition, services are provided at 68 other locations throughout the region, including 25 Children's campuses and 43 partner facilities.

National Hamburger Festival Main Stage Schedule:

Saturday, July 17, noon - 10:30 p.m.

Live Music and Entertainment
2:00 - 4:00 - Jon Mosey
4:00 - 8:00 - Evil Ways - A Tribute to Carlos Santana
8:30 - 11:00 - Satisfaction - A Tribute to the Rolling Stones
5:00, 8:15, 9:30 - Quiz Master - Dennis George Variety Show

Contests
1:30 - Festival Queen Pageant
5:15 - Bobbing for Burgers
6:30 - Ohio Hamburger Eating Championships
8:00 - Restaurant Awards

Sunday, July 18, noon - 7 p.m.

Live Music and Entertainment
2:00 - 5:00 - 45 RPM
1:30 and 5:00 - Quiz Master - Dennis George Variety Show

Contests
12:30 - Baby Burger Contest
1:00 - Miss Hamburger Festival Contest
3:00 - Amateur Hamburger Cook-Off

Additional information is available at http://www.hamburgerfestival.com

# # #