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Shortcake Eating Championship returns to the Strawberry Festival

How much strawberry shortcake can you eat in eight minutes?

There will be plenty of folks aiming to find out at the 64thannual Mattituck Lions Club Strawberry Festival this weekend.

Major League Eating is bringing back the Mattituck Lions Club World Strawberry Shortcake Eating Championship after a lengthy hiatus. The last eating competition took place at the festival in 2008. This year, competitive eaters will chow down for a shot at winning the $3,500 grand prize.

The contest is sweet enough to lure  N0. 2-ranked competitive eating champ Carmen Cincotti of New Jersey to Mattituck. Cincotti currently holds several Major League Eating records, including consuming 101 bratwursts in 10 minutes in 2016 and 61.75 ears of corn in 12 minutes in 2017.

The strawberry shortcake record is 15.25 pounds in eight minutes.

The competition is Saturday, June 16 at the Strawberry Fields Fairgrounds on Route 48 in Mattituck.

If watching people shovel cake into their mouth isn’t appealing, fear not, there is much more to the Strawberry Festival.

The event kicks off with Hulling Night on Thursday, June 14 at 5 p.m. when the community comes together to hull the strawberries that will become shortcakes. There will also be carnival rides starting at 6:30 p.m. that night. Pay-one-price bracelet for rides is $25, or single ride tickets are available.

The actual Strawberry Festival runs from Friday, June 15, to Sunday, June 17.  There’s arts and crafts, live music, food vendors, carnival, games of chance, the crowning of Strawberry Festival Queen, fireworks, strawberries, your very own strawberry shortcake and much more. Check out the full event schedule: mattituckstrawberryfestival.org

Photo caption: Contestants at the 2007 Strawberry Eating Contest. (Credit: Judy Ahrens, file)

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