How National Chicken Wing Day Was Born

It's not really a question of what came first, the drum or the flat.

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Although the origin of the chicken wing, and who gets to claim the title of being the first to serve them in Western New York is a Suicide Sauce-level hot topic in certain circles, conventional wisdom and lore attributes that title to the Anchor Bar, and its owners Theresa and Frank Bellissimo.

The declaration of July 29 as National Chicken Wing Day goes back 1977, when then-mayor of Buffalo Stan Makowski declared the day be recognized to celebrate Buffalonians' consumption of  ”thousands of pounds of chicken wings” at restaurants every week, according to the New York Times.

And National Chicken Wing Day shouldn't be confused with the newly created National Chicken Wing Month, which will be celebrated in October.

Drew Cerza, founder of Wingfest, announced changes to Wingfest 2020 -- most notably, taking it inside your homes, and out to local restaurants and bars across the U.S., raising money for Food Banks all across the nation.

"America’s Greatest Chicken Wing Party" will be a national celebration of the chicken wing, also serving as a massive fundraising effort for food banks in over 50 cities in the United States.