Uncle Fletch Festival this Saturday

Uncle Fletch Festival press release

Fire up the grills, it’s Uncle Fletch time again!

The Uncle Fletch Hamburger Festival will be held 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 17, on the square in Athens.

“We are honored again to be a major sponsor of this year’s Uncle Fletch Festival,” said Athens attorney Jeff Weinstein of Weinstein Law. “Celebrating Athens as the Home of the Hamburger is such a great opportunity for us to show off our wonderful city and the folks that live here. I truly look forward to this event every year. ”

Other major sponsors include: McDonalds, Whataburger, Henderson County Now, Ask Dr. Fran, Weinstein Real Estate, Jollibee, Guitars, Etc., Virtual Communications and Extreme Engineering.

What’s all the fuss about? If you haven’t heard, Fletcher Davis invented the hamburger in downtown Athens and was discovered selling his sandwich at the World’s Fair, according to McDonald’s and the Texas State Legislature.

The Texas House resolution reads, in part: “Although accounts differ as to the origins of this American classic, the staff at McDonald’s management training center has traced its beginnings back to the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair, where it was sold by a vendor on the midway; a reporter for the New York Tribune, writing about the fair, made note of the new sandwich in an article and commented that it was the vendor’s own creation.”

That vendor was none other than Fletcher Davis, or Uncle Fletch as some people called him.

To honor the city’s place in culinary history, the festival will include a traditional hamburger cook-off to crown the best burger chefs around.

There were almost 40 cook teams in 2015, and the festival is expecting even more this year since the announcement that the prize money will nearly double to $1,800. The cook-off will be organized into three categories: backyard burger, gourmet burger, and non-profits and churches.

Prizes for first ($300), second ($200) and third ($100) place will be awarded in each of the categories.

There will also be awards for Best Decorated cook team area and the team with the best Uncle Fletch Spirit. Trophies will also be presented in the McDonald’s Burger Eating contest, Whataburger Bobbing for Burgers contest and Weinstein Law Mooing contests.

More vendors have signed up for this year’s festival for folks to visit and Extreme Engineering will be again be setting up its zip line right downt he middle of the street.

There will also be music, provided by Will Burgin’s students from Guitar’s Etc.

Come join the fun 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 17, on the square in Athens.