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The Slugburger Festival, on July 12-14, got a $7,000 grant from the Corinth Area CVB on Tuesday. Main Street Corinth will use the money for the new eating contest and will develop a wider advertising reach.
The other event, the15th Annual Leon Frazier Memorial Concert, is planned for June 2. It was awarded $3,500 to help with advertising, which includes newspaper, radio and billboards this year.
The Kiwanis Club of Corinth moved the event last year from the coliseum to the Crossroads Arena to attract a larger audience.
More extensive advertising is planned to let regular followers, as well as a wider geographic audience, know the new location and the program of popular gospel artists. Headliners this year are Gordon Mote and Michael English, familiar to Gaither Family fans and TV program viewers. Other performers include Gene McDonald, DuJuana Frazier Thompson, Steve Ladd and Tim Duncan.
As for the Slugburger Festival, it will feature the Major League Eating-organized Slugburger Eating World Championship.
The MLE secures a field of eaters, many of whom follow the MLE eating contest circuit. The organization also produces a show with "over-the-top pageantry and tongue-in-cheek commentary," according to promotional material.
Main Street Corinth is working to build on the national publicity it garnered last year when the popular annual event was featured in Parade magazine, which spotlighted an event in each of the 50 states that shouldn't be missed.
Musical performances are featured on Friday and Saturday nights, but entertainers have not yet been announced. A popular Slug Idol contest draws competitors from surrounding areas who vie for a chance to perform as an opening artist for one of the two main acts.
The Slugburger Festival also includes three days of carnival rides and other food vendors.
lena.mitchell@journalinc.com