The TeePee Drive-In theater in Sapulpa, Oklahoma, will host a hotdog-eating contest on the evening of July 4, the birthday of the United States.
The contest begins at 7 p.m. The TeePee will hold a small fireworks display that night at 8:50, with a moving screening to follow.
The venue claims it is the first hotdog-eating competition on Route 66, according to KJRH-TV in nearby Tulsa.
“We’re thrilled to offer a taste of classic Americana this Fourth of July,” said Chuck Foxen, Manager and Film Programmer at the TeePee Drive-In on Route 66. “Our guests can expect a night of nostalgic fun under the stars, capped off by the inaugural Route 66 Hot Dog Eating Competition. It’s going to be a real firecracker of a time.”
It’s $25 to compete in the contest and you can sign up here. The $25 also includes a ticket to see the movie of the night, Despicable Me 4.
The winner of the competition will get a TeePee Drive-In t-shirt and a one-night stay at the TeePee’s Spartan Airbnb.
Upon learning about this competition, my mind immediately went to high-level competitive eater Joey “Jaws” Chestnut, who was banned from the annual Nathan’s hotdog-eating contest on July 4 after he signed a deal with a Nathan’s competitor. Chestnut had won the Nathan’s contest a record 16 times.
However, Chestnut quickly landed another Independence Day hotdog gig. He will compete against Fort Bliss soldiers in the Pop Goes the Fort Independence Day celebration at Biggs Park in El Paso, Texas.
The resurrected TeePee Drive-In held its grand reopening last spring.
The Kante Group, which owns several other historic buildings in Sapulpa, purchased the Tee Pee in 2021 and began renovating the long-neglected property.
The Tee Pee Drive-In, which sits on the Ozark Trail alignment of Route 66, was built in 1950. The last movie shown there previously was in 1999 or 2000.
(Images of hotdogs by rob_rob2001 via Flickr)