BurgerFest in Hamburg, the annual event to commemorate the birth of the hamburger, is reorganizing after three of the four groups that have run the event are withdrawing.
The fourth, the Kiwanis Club of Hamburg, will carry on alone.
“We’ve been involved for a very long time. That’s why we’re going to stick with it,” said Sue Ganey of the Kiwanis Club of Hamburg.
This year’s event is scheduled to take place July 20 at Main and Buffalo streets and in the municipal parking lot in the Village of Hamburg. Ganey said she is seeking additional volunteers.
BurgerFest has been coordinated by a committee consisting of members of the Rotary Club of Hamburg, the Hamburg Sunrise Rotary Club, the Town of Hamburg Lions Club and the Kiwanis Club.
The Sunrise Rotary Club decided last year would be its final year, and this year the Lions Club and Rotary Club of Hamburg also decided to withdraw, with no hard feelings.
Eileen Hotho of the Rotary Club said a poll of members found the majority felt the effort required for organizing the event had become more daunting as the event grew and “perhaps it is time for others to take the lead.” The Rotary and Lions clubs said in a news release they wished the Kiwanis Club success, and thanked the community for its support over the years.
While the festival has a down-home feel, it has attracted 25,000 to 30,000 when the weather cooperates.
“I think BurgerFest is a staple and I’m glad it’s moving ahead,” Mayor Thomas Tallman told The Buffalo News.
The first BurgerFest was held in 1985 to commemorate the birth of the hamburger at the Erie County Fair in Hamburg in 1885. Legend has it that vendors Frank and Charles Menches ran out of pork sausage and turned to hamburger, which they seasoned with secret ingredients, including coffee grounds.
And legend in Seymour, Wis., has it that the burger was invented the same year by Charlie Nagreen, known as “Hamburger Charlie,” who was selling meatballs made of…
Read the full article here
Leave a Reply