Get ready for a new food-centered event in Owensboro this summer, as the inaugural Owensboro Hot Dog Week will feature specialty hot dogs, Americana-inspired desserts, competitions, and fundraising for veterans-focused nonprofits from June 27 through July 5. Organizers are currently seeking restaurants, food trucks, bakeries, and sponsors to participate.
The weeklong event will include participating businesses across the area offering featured menu items, with $1 from every item sold being donated to charity. The majority of proceeds will benefit Veterans Empowered Together (V.E.T.).
The event was founded by Spenser Clark, who said the idea came from wanting to create something fun for the community while also giving back.
“We’re running under the same concept of something like Burger Week, but I had the thought of, ‘What if we could give back while doing an event like that?’” Clark said. “With the Fourth of July coming up and the 250th birthday of America, the perfect people to me were veterans.”
Clark said participating businesses can either create new menu items or feature existing hot dog offerings during the event.
The event will include three divisions: an “All-American Dog” category for items priced under $8 before tax; a gourmet category for higher-priced entries; and an “As American As…” dessert category featuring takes on classic American desserts.
Clark said the pricing structure was intentionally left flexible to allow more businesses to participate.
“I want the prices to be adjustable so the restaurants aren’t suffering, but they’re also able to donate,” Clark said.
Participating hot dog entries can range from traditional hot dogs to more creative versions, though Clark said the food still needs to resemble a recognizable hot dog or sausage-style dish. The dessert category, meanwhile, simply requires the dish to be classically American.
Clark said businesses planning to participate have already discussed everything from Chicago-style and bacon-wrapped hot dogs to cobblers, cakes, and banana pudding for the dessert category.
The week will also include a judges panel made up of local food personalities and social media influencers, with awards planned for each category. Organizers are additionally exploring a People’s Choice component.
An opening celebration is planned at The Lot on Fourth with multiple food trucks expected to participate, while organizers are hoping to close out the week with a hot dog eating contest on July 4.
Clark said there is currently no cap on participation and that organizers are encouraging as many businesses as possible to get involved.
“I figured putting a cap on it really dampens the spirit,” he said.
The deadline for restaurants, food trucks, bakeries, and dessert shops to sign up is May 27. Organizers are also continuing to seek sponsors and volunteers.
Clark said the event also has personal meaning for him. His father was a veteran who died four years ago, and he said the idea first came together while he was eating a hot dog during a lunch break last fall.
“The wheels just started spinning,” Clark said. “Who better to give something back to?”
While this year’s proceeds are focused on veterans organizations, Clark said he hopes the event can become an annual tradition that also helps other nonprofits in the future.
“I would love to have this as a constant trend,” he said. “Every year after, maybe we support another nonprofit and continue helping community heroes.”
Businesses or sponsors interested in participating can contact Clark at [email protected]. Clark said community members who may not want to participate directly but still want to support the effort can also make donations by contacting him through the event.
Scott Wallace of V.E.T. said a portion of the money raised during Owensboro Hot Dog Week will go toward efforts to install a downtown monument honoring female veterans, while the remaining proceeds will support V.E.T. programs and services such as therapy assistance, equine therapy, and the organization’s veteran assistance program.
“It meant a lot just to have someone like Spenser want to give back to veterans,” Wallace said. “He had this great idea, and wanting to support veterans is really great for someone who hasn’t served.”
Wallace said he hopes the community embraces the event both for the food and for the cause behind it.
“I think we have a great support of veterans in Owensboro,” Wallace said. “I’ve been with V.E.T. for about 1.5 years now. Just from what I’ve seen, Owensboro supports their veterans really well, always supporting them at events and things like that.”
