One of the highlights of the Stratham Fair is the pie eating contest. Clowns travel throughout the crowd as heralds, calling the warriors to the arena.

Nathan's Famous Hot Dogs can be blamed for the entire eating contest thing. In the year Nathan's first opened, 1916, they held the first July 4th Nathan's Famous eating contest on Coney Island. As if that weren't enough ignominy, Nathan's is also credited as being the Home of Fast Food. Nathan's also came up with the idea of the International Federation of Competitive Eating (IFOCE). It's for real. The IFOCE seems to realize that it is funny as evidenced by its official heraldic emblem bearing two standing lions facing each other, each holding one end of a footlong hotdog in his mouth.

Some words of advice for first time competitors:

Don't eat anything before the contest to maximize your potential pie intake.

Attach your plate to the table with tape or Velcro to prevent it from sliding away from you.

Tie your hands behind your back. you don't want to get disqualified.

Slam your whole face into the pie and stick out your tongue. Pull the food toward your mouth.

Eat by turning your head to the sides and up and down. This will get lot of pie stuck on your face and in your hair. You will be dirty but it will get the pie off the plate faster.

Try to eat as much crust as possible, as a half-empty plate from side to side looks like a lot less pie then from top to bottom. Try to uncover as much plate or pan as possible.

Have fun.

Years of training are required to become a champion!

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Come back often to see what these piglets are discussing. Pork may be on the menu. Menu changes frequently.

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