D'YOUVILLE UNIVERSITY 31 He followed in his father’s footsteps in the food industry, and in 1994, Cerza founded RMI Promotions Group, working with big- name national food manufacturers like Hershey’s and General Mills and would serve as president until 2005 (shortly after the wing festival took off). Just as strong as his entrepreneurial spirit was his passion for philanthropy — RMI raised more than $1 million for Buffalo-area nonprofit groups during his time there. His desire to give back to his community is ultimately what led to the creation of the National Buffalo Wing Festival, more affectionately and commonly known as Wing Fest. Cerza was cleaning out his garage when a front page column in an old newspaper caught his eye — the writer had just seen the movie Osmosis Jones, which has a scene where Bill Murray’s character “surprises” his daughter with tickets to “The Buffalo Wing Festival” in Buffalo. Ninety-nine kinds of wings; 128 different dipping sauces. You love math. Crunch the numbers on that. The possibilities are infinite. The columnist wondered, in ink, why Buffalo didn’t have such a festival and made a call out to the city asking for someone to step up and make it happen. Cerza answered the call. Osmosis Jones hit theaters in 2001. By 2002, the National Buffalo Wing Festival was a reality, drawing about 40,000 people that first year at Sahlen Field and launching a tradition that’s as much a part of Buffalo as the wing itself. Wing Fest FUN FACTS A TOP 3 FOOD FESTIVAL: This year, USA Today placed Wing Fest No. 3 on its Top 10 list of Specialty Food Festivals in the country, coming in just behind the Delta Hot Tamale Festival in Greenville, Mississippi, and the winner, Picklesburgh in Pittsburgh. ALL OVER THE WORLD: Since its founding in 2002, Wing Fest has drawn more than 1.25 million attendees from all 50 states, 41 different counties and every continent (even Antarctica). NATIONAL ATTENTION: Wing Fest has been showcased by the Food Network (All-American Festivals, Unwrapped, Throwdown with Bobby Flay and Emeril Lagasse Live), the Travel Channel (Bar Food Paradise, Taste of America and Food Wars), NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s The View, The CBS Morning Show, BBC, Fox and Friends and even a PBS documentary. COMPETITIVE EATING: Wing Fest hosts a number of competitive eating contests each year, including the U.S. Chicken Wing Eating Championship, Amateur Chicken Wing Eating, Amateur Creative Sauce Contest, Wing’s Army Hot Wing Eating Contest, Bobbing for Wings (in blue cheese), the Buffalo Buffet Bowl and more. Famed hot dog champ Joey Chestnut is a six-time winner, and Sonya “Black Widow” Thomas has won seven times. GIVING BACK: In its 23-year history, Wing Fest has raised over $500,000 for Buffalo-area charities. Said Drew Cerza: “It’s all about giving back to the community. It’s about civic pride. People are proud of this festival. The Buffalo wing is a unique food, and it is our food.” Wing Fest relies heavily on volunteers, and each year, D’Youville University students help out in a number of ways, including at the fry pits (above).
