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Hot dog fest celebrates Niles with new attractions

NILES — Helicopter rides and an amphibian and reptile exhibit are among the new attractions at the fifth annual Harry Stevens Hot Dog Day noon to 9 p.m. Sunday in downtown Niles.

The event coincides with the city’s Fourth of July parade and festivities include the Little Miss, Junior Miss and Miss Niles pageants.

Debbie Barber with the Avenue and Main committee, which plans the event, said most activities will be along East State Street and the bicycle trail trailhead near the Niles Senior Center.

There also will be a hot dog eating contest, musical entertainment, food, vendors, basket raffles, cornhole tournament, fire department open house and 50-50 raffle. The helicopter rides, for which there is a a fee, will be at Murphy Park on East Park Avenue.

The schedule is:

• A parade at 1 p.m. starting at Niles McKinley High School and traveling along Main Street across the Niles viaduct to Niles Middle School;

• Jimi and the Cool Cats featuring Niles native Jimi Campbell will perform starting at 2 p.m. on the main stage on East State Street;

• At 3:30 p.m. will be the “weiner dog” race with Daschunds followed by a dog costume contest, both at the trailhead;

• The Miss Niles, Little Miss Niles and Junior Miss Niles pageants is 4 p.m. outside the McKinley Memorial Library;

• At 4:30 p.m. is the hot dog eating contest on the main stage;

• The Sensations Band will perform 6 to 9 p.m. on main stage.

The Niles Historical Society will be participating with a tent with information on Niles history and selling historical books and items. The Ward Thomas will be closed that day.

Barber said the majority of the day’s events are free.

“The goal each year is to bring a day filled with family activities to downtown Niles as well as celebrate inventor and businessman Harry Stevens,” she said.

Stevens was a Niles resident in the early 20th century who was credited with inventing the hot dog, baseball scorecard and, according to sources, the drinking straw.

Born in Derby, England, in 1856, Stevens emigrated to Niles in 1882. His family lived at a large home at the corner of Crandon and Robbins avenues, which still stands today, and Stevens is buried in the Niles City Cemetery, where his gravesite is visited by local historians and guided tours.

Harry Stevens Hot Dog Day was at one time annually celebrated in Niles, but the festival was discontinued for decades. The organizing committee members decided it was time to bring the festival back and renew its tradition.

In 2013, the festival was resurrected thanks to the efforts of local volunteers, businesses, community members and the Avenue and Main nonprofit organization.

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