By Abby Sexsmith, Staff Writer
If you look up Hot Dog Day online, the first thing that comes up is a Wikipedia page on Hot Dog Days. The first event on the list of notable Hot Dog Days is the small town of Alfred NY’s festival. Not only do Hot Dog Days warrant a Wiki page, but Alfred is winning in it.
Hot Dog Day is something many people in the area look forward to each year. From the legendary hot dog stands, music, parties, and countless activities, it has become one of the defining events of the Alfred community. But how did it get its start? And what is the deal with the hot dogs?
In the spirit of the coming Alfred holiday, I sat down with school archivist Laurie Lounsberry Meehan to get the facts. She, being the person most knowledgeable in Alfred history, and having lived in Alfred for many years, had a lot to share on the topic. Hot Dog Day was first started in 1972 by students Eric Vaughn and Mark O’Meara, along with other AU and Alfred State students. They went to the Student Senate and requested $750 ($5,568.05 in today’s money) for startup funds to host a charity event on that Parent’s Weekend, April 29, 1972. The plan was for a carnival, sales, and lots of fun activities in order to raise money for local charities. Their plan for the theme of the event changed when their order for 2,500 hot dogs (hot dogs being the perfect college food: cheap and pre-cooked) got mistakenly changed into 5,000. In a hurry, the students rushed to buy 2,500 more hotdog buns from around the area, rushing through the surrounding towns’ grocery stores. They were successful though, and with their hope to sell all of the hot dogs, Hot Dog Day was born.
The first Hot Dog Day was very successful. It was described as affiliates from both institutions (AU and A State) being present, “all imbued with the spirit of the occasion and the benign weather of an early spring day.” Present students, staff, and townspeople set out to have a good day. An article from the Alfred Reporter released in June 1972 described the scene: “Main Street was closed to traffic during the afternoon, and the downtown section became the setting for a gala block party. Among the midway type attractions were a penny carnival, a pie eating contest, a Lions club auction, student sponsored rummage sale, kissing booth, palm reader, and at the center of it all, a stand dispensing hot dogs and Coke.” As was said in a Fiat Lux article by the Hot Dog Day founders from the same year, the first Hot Dog Day raked in $4200 (about $30,989.27 today!), an insane profit. In the article they thank everyone who helped, saying “You gave Alfred something it won’t soon forget, a party.”
Through the years, many events have come and gone, including mud olympics and the Delta 500 (an unofficial race held by a frat house where students raced anything with wheels). However, Hot Dog Day has only grown throughout the years, especially after Alfred stopped hosting the St. Patrick’s Day celebration. Today, the event includes weiner dog races and the Oscar Meyer Wienermobile even drove in the parade one year.
The event is a great way to welcome spring with the community. This year, it is going to be on Saturday, April 20th. This year can be expected to have the vendor fair, a 5K, weiner dog race, parade, ice cream social, live music (including the AU jazz band performing at the Terracotta at 1pm!), zip line, dunk tank, carnival, and a Paint and Powder Party. Honoring tradition, all proceeds will be benefiting local charities.
So come check out Hot Dog Day! Have fun, make good choices, and help the community welcome spring and celebrate the end of the semester. This will be the 52nd Hot Dog Day, and may there be 52 more.
For more information on this history and the full interview of Laurie Meehan, tune in to the King Alfred’s Diary podcast on Spotify and Amazon Music for the newest episode, “Hot Dog Day History.”