Upon entering the campus center on the afternoon of Saturday, Sept. 16, students heard a familiar tune: The “Star Wars” title sequence. As they walked to the sign in table for Gator Activities Programming’s annual Wingfest event, Darth Vader, Chewbacca and other volunteers checked for student ID cards to hand out “Wing Wars” T-shirts and paper food boats. Students then queued in line where they could serve themselves from the variety of wings.
Hot BBQ, Millers Lickers, and Hot Damn!! were just some of the sauce-covered wing options available for students to choose from. The needs of students who prefer plant-based foods were also met with vegan Red Hot Buffalo wings.
Most students were pleased with the wing selection GAP provided, which was evident by food boats filled with cleaned bones and the repeated trips many students took to the wing buffet to get more wings. Some students noted that there were fewer options than last year.
“There was a better variety last year and they had tater tots,” said Abby Manchook, ’25. “But this year is chill.”
“The wings were also spicier last year,” added Kat Pointer, ’25.
“GAP acquired our wings from two local restaurants: Ranz Bar & Grill and Firehouse Tap & Grille,” said GAP president Thión Lee, ’24. “GAP bases its amount of wings it gets each year off of the previous year’s turnout — which has ranged from 2,500 wings to 4,000 wings. When we decide on the flavors and variety of our wings, the executive board of GAP personally goes out to these restaurants and does a simple taste test of the sauces the restaurant has for their wings.”
Once the lines for the wing buffet died down, the wing-eating competition began. Eight contestants made their way to the stage where they had to eat five wings coated with the spiciest sauce available. Patrick Sharp, ’26, came in first place followed by Poncelot Michel, ’24, in second place. The two were each awarded $20 gift cards to Starbucks.
“Our biggest goal with this Wingfest event was to create something that would not only attract as many students as possible but also create an event that keeps students wanting to stay and be engaged,” Lee said. “I definitely believe we accomplished this goal as we had large groups of people present and excited throughout the entire event”
Lee also attributed the event’s success to the “Wing Wars” theme, which was decided upon due to the popularity of the franchise.
“We had a lot of existing material in our possession that fit really well with the theme,” Lee said. “‘Star Wars’ also fit well with the battle of the wing-eating competition the intense but also light flavors we had decided on, and just was a really cool idea that we felt really confident would bring us the most students”
The following day, the ’90’s themed BBQ was held on the Gator Quad from 1-4 p.m., hosted by the Association for the Advancement of Black Culture, Black Girl Magic and BoomGrillx. The event also had chicken wings, in addition to chicken kabobs, corn, Hawaiian rolls and cookies.
“The purpose of this event is to cultivate a communative space that will give people a break from their classes and rigorous schedules,” said Imiyah Brown, ’26, vice president of ABC.
Rian Watson, ’24, president of ABC and BGM added that it tied into the groups’ long-term aims as well.
“Our goal is to rebuild the Black community on this campus and for people who do not identify as Black or African American to come together because food is culture and it connects everyone.” Watson said.
To bring about a ’90s vibe, ’90s and early-2000s hip-hop and R&B music was playing during the cookout.
“The ’90s was a big era for the Black community,” Brown said. “There was a lot of expression through music, TV and sports. So having the ’90s theme seemed like a great way to highlight everything.”
BoomGrillx owner and chef, Koye Balogun, ’26, was grilling wings with three different sauces. “Good food, good vibes,” was Balogun’s mantra for the event.
“When I do a cookout, it’s not just about coming to eat, it’s more about coming and having fun!” Balogun said.
Also working the grill was Sha Lilley, ’24,
“It’s a nice experience to get my culinary skills up, which is why I am working with Koye and his team,” Lilley said. “It was also nice of President Ron Cole, ’87, to drop off homemade cookies.”
Brown noted that she hoped this event “would introduce the first years to these organizations and encourage them to join to carry on the clubs” once the upperclassmen graduated.