Buffalo, NY –  The National Buffalo Wing Festival, America’s premier celebration of Buffalo’s signature culinary creation, announced that it will celebrate its 20th anniversary this Labor Day Weekend (Sept. 3 and 4) at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, the “Home of the Buffalo Bills”.

Since its founding in 2002, Wingfest has evolved into one of the country’s top food festivals, drawing more than 1 million attendees from all 50 states, 41 different counties and every continent (even Antarctica). The festival helped establish Buffalo as the World Capital of Wings and gave the city a reason to celebrate its signature food like it never had before.

“We want this year’s Wingfest a party to remember,” Cerza said. “We survived Covid and have found a new home. Whether you visit us every year or haven’t been in a decade, this is the year to come back, reconnect with old friends over a cold beer and feast on your favorite food, complete with ample helpings of wing sauce and blue cheese.”

Wingfest has come a long way since Cerza started the first festival in Dunn Tire Park in downtown Buffalo in 2002. Cerza began Wingfest and changed the course of food history after reading a newspaper column that questioned why Buffalo had no annual celebration of its signature food. Foodies and wing fans in those 20 years have consumed more than 5 million wings served from 161 participating restaurants from as far away as Australia. The festival has also raised $420,000 during that time for charities such as Feedmore WNY.

Wingfest has been showcased by such national media as the Food Network (All-American Festivals, Unwrapped, Throwdown with Bobby Flay and Emeril Lagasse Live), the Travel Channel (Bar Food Paradise, Taste of America and Food Wars), NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s The View, The CBS Morning Show, BBC, Fox and Friends and even a PBS documentary.  And in 2021, Wingfest moved to a new home: Highmark Stadium, the home of the Buffalo Bills, a much larger venue that will prime the festival for continued growth for years to come.