The community is encouraged to come hungry and get ready for a good time Saturday afternoon as downtown Middlesboro holds the Fifth Annual Middlesboro Wing Fling Festival.

The festival will take place on Cumberland Avenue in downtown Middlesboro this Saturday from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Founded in 2015, the Middlesboro Wing Fling Festival allows local restaurants and backyard grill masters to prove that their wings are the best of the best.

“We are having both a wing cooking competition and a wing eating competition,” Middlesboro Main Street director Emily Ayers said. “Because what’s a wing festival without a wing eating contest? Tickets will be $10 at the event.”

There will be prizes for both the cooking competition and the wing eating competition.

Prizes for the cooking competition will be:

• First Place: $1,250;

• Second Place: $750;

• Third Place: $500.

Prizes for the wing eating competition will be:

• First Place: $500;

• Second Place: $250;

• Third Place: $100.

The contestants will have only five minutes to devour as many wings as they can. Each contestant will receive 4 pounds of wings. The eaters will be allowed to drink only water and nothing else during the contest.

The amount of meat eaten will determine the winner.

There will be up to 15 competitor booths with live music and more on Fountain Square and the community is invited to come out and enjoy this fun summer event.

Not only can the community enjoy a wide variety of chicken wing recipes, a recipe competition and an eating contest, there will also be live music.

“Having quality events like the Wing Fling help breathe life into our downtown.” said Bell County Tourism Director Jon Grace. “It takes a ton of work and I know the Wing Fling will be a staple summertime event for our town for years to come.”

The Wing Fling also helps bolster the ongoing goal of revitalizing the downtown area and Middlesboro as a whole.

For more information, visit their official Facebook page at Middlesboro Wing Fling Festival.