CONTRIBUTED BY
OPELIKA ROTARY CLUB
OPELIKA —
Opelika Rotary Club has hosted the annual food event “Burger Wars” in beautiful downtown Opelika for years. From the start, Burger Wars was a hit with both the grillers wanting to show off their best burgers and the hungry crowd that would purchase tasting tickets and attempt to sample as much as possible.
This year the 8th Annual Burger Wars will be held Saturday, June 4, 2022, at 11 a.m. and will once again take place right across the tracks from another popular event earlier that morning, Opelika Main Street’s Touch-A-Truck.
Tasting tickets for the event will go on sale at 10:45 a.m. and will be sold until burger samples run out. Tasting tickets are $2, and one tasting ticket can be exchanged to sample 1⁄4 of a burger at any of the more than 30 grilling stations. Burger Wars Co-Chair Kristen Ferrell noted, “Due to the event’s popularity in recent years, we anticipate that burger samples will go quickly, so we recommend arriving right at 11 for the best chance at trying all the burgers.”
So, get there early for your best chance at all the burgers.
In addition to getting to sample as many of the amazing burgers you can handle, attendees will also get to cast their vote for Crowd Favorite, which is a treasured trophy amongst the grillers. After tasting some burgers, attendees will use a QR code to vote for their favorite burger and the griller with the most votes will win the coveted Crowd Favorite trophy.
While guests enjoy tasting burgers, judges will taste and rate burgers throughout the day, and winners in the three grilling categories (Pro, Corporate and Tailgater) will be announced at 2 p.m.. Winners get a trophy and bragging rights for the entire year.
Aside from being a fierce food competition, Burger Wars is first and foremost an event to raise money for food insecure children in the area.
Proceeds from previous Burger Wars have enabled Opelika Rotary to adopt local schools through the Food Bank of East Alabama’s backpack program.
“Thanks to the success of last year’s event, our club was able to give $6,545 for this program and sponsor Southview Primary in Opelika and Ogletree Elementary in Auburn,” said Anna-Kate Padgett, Opelika Rotary vice president.
It is the club’s hope that Burger Wars remains a successful event so that they can continue to partner with the food bank to provide meals for many years to come.
Throughout the day, Burger War’s mascot, Patty Melt, will make several appearances, and Aubie the Tiger will also join in on the fun when the event begins at 11 a.m. And if that isn’t enough fun already, make sure to head over to the Big Bite Battle between the Opelika and Auburn fire departments.
“Watching the two fire departments battle it out is one of the best parts of the day and worth sticking around for,” said Kasey Kashak, Burger Wars committee member.
The eating competition will start at 1 p.m.
Opelika Rotary hopes you come to downtown Opelika on Saturday, June 4, for this family-friendly event and enjoy some amazing burgers for a great cause. For more information, visit Opelika Rotary’s website at www.opelikarotaryclub.com or check out the Burger Wars 2022 event page on Facebook.