A rainy afternoon turned into a pleasant evening on Saturday as thousands crowded the historic Shawnee Town 1929 site near downtown Shawnee for the Old Shawnee Days fest, which was highlighted this year by a qualifier for Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest.
The muddy ground left over from the earlier rain wasn’t enough to detract hundreds from watching contestants from around the world gorge on hot dogs for the qualifying contest to see who would go on to Coney Island for the Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest.
First-place winners at the Shawnee qualifier included Jocelyn Young in the women’s contest, who ate 11.25 hot dogs in 10 minutes, and Radim Dvoracek in the men’s competition, who ate 29.5 hot dogs in 10 minutes.
In addition to the contest, people were busy riding carnival rides, participating in contests, checking out vendors and trying an array of food.
Old Shawnee Days wrapped up Sunday at 6 p.m.
Here are some of the highlights from Saturday:
