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WORCESTER’S HOT ODG SAFARI
The list this year includes last year’s champion Schultzy’s in Sutton, Mama Roux in Shrewsbury, Captain Ron’s, George’s Hot Dog Stand in Fitchburg, Stix and Pux in Sterling, and Shake N Dog in Leominster.
HOT DOG SAFARI
SHAUN CONNOLLY
Thanks to hot dog aficionados Tom Mahoney and Bryan O’Donnell, the Worcester Hot Dog Safari has been the charity event of the summer for over a decade. Mahoney describes it as a “pub crawl for hot dogs, where you go to a bunch of hot dog places around. We all rate them and give a trophy to the best one. T-shirts and hats are sold to commemorate the day, and we have a big party and everyone has a lot of fun. Money from the merchandise and entry fee all get donated to the Worcester County Food Bank.” Mahoney’s motivation behind the Safari is simply beautiful, he explains, “This event is my muse, it’s become my identity, what I wake up for in the morning. It’s what gets me up in the winter, it brings people together, it’s survived the pandemic. It’s a way to remember old Worcester and celebrate new Worcester. You can relive your childhood, and watch a new generation experience this city.”
In the last decade the Safari has been able to raise over $20,000, including $6,900 just last year alone. Mahoney says, “food insecurity helps solve a lot of outstanding issues in your community and this event helps keep the bank fresh in people’s minds.”
The hub for the whole day is Ralph’s Rock Diner, where participants will be able to pick up their score sheets, t-shirts and other merch (including this year’s specialty item, a crewneck sweatshirt. on that morning starting at 10:30AM on August 13th. From there everyone will hit up all of the different hot dog places on this year’s list.
After everyone has sampled and scored the dogs, Safarians head back to Ralph’s by 4PM to debate the best dogs, enjoy a libation, and wait for the scores to be tallied and the announcement of who this year’s Hot Dog Safari Champion is. The coveted Top Dog award is given to the Safarian who consumes the most documented dogs during the day, with least one from each place. There will be bands, a dunk tank and a very cute addition to this year’s entertainment, Worcester’s Hottest Dog Competition.
“We’re extremely excited to also have the Hottest Dog Competition this year. We’re partnering with Second Chance Animal Services to bring some of their adoptable dogs to Ralph’s, where Safarians will be able to use donation dollars to vote for the cutest pup and name the first ever Hottest Dog,” says O’Donnell.
If that wasn’t enough, it just so happens that Tim Capello of the movie Lost Boys fame will be playing upstairs at Ralph’s that night. If you don’t remember the glistening bare chested saxophone player from the brat pack era vampire movie, you’re missing out. Capello has been gracious enough to be raffling off 10 tickets to the show during the Safari, where that money will also be donated to the Food Bank. O’Donnell adds, “Hot Dogs are kind of a perfect reflection of America. Diverse, ever-evolving, and co-opted from immigrants. Most people just want to enjoy their hot dog without examining the difficult truth of how it was formed. Well we do. We want to see the hot dog for what it isn’t, and what it could be, and we want to try and use it for good. Because a hot dog can be whatever we want it to be, if only we all rise together and say: A Hot Dog never sleeps.”
“A sign of a successful Safari is if people have a good time and a bunch of money gets donated to the food bank,” said Mahoney. In that case here’s to more successes.
