Wingfest raised thousands to benefit local educator battling cancer

TEMPERANCEVILLE, Va., – March 11, 2021 – Tyson Foods today announced that its annual Ticktown Wingfest, held at the Onancock Elks Lodge in Accomac, Virginia, raised thousands of dollars to support the medical needs of a local educator, despite changes to the event due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now in its eleventh year, Ticktown Wingfest has evolved from a small fundraiser to support neighbors battling cancer in 2010, to an anticipated community event, complete with a cooking competition involving both “backyard” chefs and local restaurants. Tyson Foods’ plant in Temperanceville, Virginia has donated thousands of chicken wings in support of the event since 2012. This year, the facility provided 8,000 chicken wings.

The chicken wings, offered plain, sweet or spicy, were offered in bulk – 40 wings in exchange for a $20 donation – and safely distributed through a curbside pickup system at the Elks Lodge. Hosted over the weekend of the NASCAR Daytona 500 race on Sunday, Feb. 14, the 2021 Ticktown Wingfest sold every last wing in just four days. All proceeds will go to local educator Michelle Buell, an assistant principal at Metompkin Elementary School in Parksley, Virginia, who is currently undergoing treatment for breast cancer.

“Wingfest has been a great community partnership! We are so overwhelmed to see all the love and support shown here on the eastern shore,” said Craig Cooper, live haul manager at Tyson Foods and Elk member. “Tyson Foods is very proud to be a sponsor in helping this event become so popular. The excitement around the wings and this great cause make me proud to work for Tyson Foods and call the ESVA my home.”

Nearly a dozen “backyard” chefs participated in this year’s cooking competition, which featured both spicy and sweet flavor divisions. Six local restaurants participated in the restaurant-specific division, including Ropewalk (Chincoteague Island, Va.), Blarney Stone Pub (Onancock, Va.), 3 Knots Taphouse (Onancock, Va.), Island House Restaurant & Marina (Wachapreague, Va.), Yuk Yuk & Joe’s (Eastville, Va.) and Cape Charles Brewing Company (Cape Charles, Va.). Plaques were awarded to the top three participants – a first-place winner and two runners up – in each competition category.

Ticktock Wingfest continues to grow in both popularity and size within the east Virginian community. This year, the event raised more than five times what was collected in its first year, enabling organizers to offer more financial support to neighbors fighting cancer. The next annual Ticktock Wingfest will take place in February 2022.

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