Hot Dog Eating Contest with Nathan’s Famous, MLE, Jen Catron & Paul Outlaw

The Hot Dog Eating Contest is a free event that celebrates the public art project by Jen Catron and Paul Outlaw, presented by Times Square Arts.

Duffy Square, Broadway & 46th St
Friday, May 17 | 12-2pm

A time-honored tradition rewarding the most uninhibited and skillful engorgement, Nathan's Famous and Major League Eating will host a real deal hot dog eating contest under the shadow of the most imposing frank of all, Hot Dog in the City. Featuring both reputable competitors and amateur eaters alike, the top male and female finishers from the Times Square-based qualifying event will compete at the ESPN-televised 2024 Nathan’s Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest in Coney Island on July 4th.

According to Nathan’s Famous, the origin story of this celebrated competition is rooted in the performance of patriotism - supposedly on the Fourth of July in 1916 four European immigrants were arguing about who amongst them is more American, and decided to settle it with a hot dog eating contest. Regardless of its roots, the annual Coney Island event has evolved into a bona fide endurance sport and storied American spectacle. Join us to witness champion chewers take on the seemingly impossible with maximum bravado in Times Square.

Daily, April 30 - June 13, 2024 | 12pm

Confetti Celebrations

Broadway & 46th St

Friday, May 3, 2024 | 6-8pm

Condiment Wars: A Wrestling Match featuring EWA and Choke Hole

Broadway & 46th St

RSVP Encouraged

Friday, May 10, 2024 | 5-6pm

The Hottest Dog Show: A Canine Beauty Pageant with AKC Museum of the Dog

Broadway & 46th St

RSVP Encouraged

Friday, May 17, 2024 | 12-2pm

Hot Dog Eating Contest with Nathan’s Famous Hot Dogs & Major League Eating

Broadway & 46th St

RSVP Encouraged

Sunday, June 9, 2024 | 12-5pm

To Be Frank: A Hot Dog Summit with The Town Hall

The Town Hall, 123 W 43rd St

Tickets Required

Thursday, June 13, 2024 | 12pm

Closing Ceremony & Election Results

Visit tsq.org/hotdog for more information on upcoming Hot Dog in the City programming and events.

Location

The Hot Dog Eating Contest will be held on Duffy Square in Times Square, at Broadway & W 46th Street. The sculptural installation, Hot Dog in the City will be on view on the Broadway pedestrian plaza between 46th and 47th Sts through June 13, 2024.

Closest subway lines include 1, A, C, E at 50th Street Station; B, D, E at 7th Avenue; B, D, F, M at 47-50 St-Rockefeller Center; N, Q, R, W at 49th Street Subway Station.

Inclement Weather Advisory Plan

We intend to hold this outdoor event in (light) rain or shine, but we will monitor the weather and share updates closer to event dates if necessary. Events may be canceled should severe weather conditions be forecasted.

Information for Visitors with Disabilities

There will be is ADA Accessible seating/viewing area. For guests needing special accommodation, please email Times Square Arts at [email protected].

Frankfurters, wieners, Coneys, red hots! Dynamic artist duo Jen Catron and Paul Outlaw take street meat to new heights with a 65 foot long sculpture of the iconic New York City style hot dog. Complete with hydraulics and bursts of confetti, this spectacular animatronic installation sited in the heart of Times Square will also be an anchor for serious talks, playful performances, and political debate. With equal parts spectacle, celebration, and critique, Catron and Outlaw symbolically supersize the all-American hot dog to examine consumption, capitalism, class, and contemporary culture. Hot Dog in the City builds upon the artists’ layered conceptual practice which spans elaborate large-scale sculptures, kinetic installations and immersive experiences, often infused with humor and camp to prompt cultural and political commentary.

Jen Catron (b. 1984, Bluford, Illinois) and Paul Outlaw (b. 1980, Fairhope, Alabama) are collaborative artists who create elaborately staged, large-scale sculptures, kinetic installations, participatory experiences and immersive environments that oscillate between the tragic and absurd. The duo’s enduring fascination with gastronomy and performance took them all the way to the reality TV show “Chopped,” which became the pinnacle of their performative fish fry food truck project. Catron and Outlaw often use humor, camp, and spectacle as a subtle veil for subversion, and their layered conceptual works become a genuinely playful and entertaining platform for pointed cultural and political commentary. The two first met and joined forces while studying at the Cranbrook Academy of Art located outside of Detroit, Michigan. After graduation, they relocated their art practice to Brooklyn, New York, where they continue to live and work. Their work has been exhibited at institutions such as the Brooklyn Museum, Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit, Cranbrook Art Museum, and Postmasters Gallery.

Times Square Arts, the public art program of the Times Square Alliance, collaborates with contemporary artists and cultural institutions to experiment and engage with one of the world's most iconic urban places. Through the Square's electronic billboards, public plazas, vacant areas and popular venues, and the Alliance's own online landscape, Times Square Arts invites leading contemporary creators, such as Charles Gaines, Joan Jonas, Jeffrey Gibson, Pamela Council, Mel Chin and Kehinde Wiley, to help the public see Times Square in new ways. Times Square has always been a cultural district and place of risk, innovation and creativity, and the arts program ensures these qualities remain central to the district's unique identity.

Support for Hot Dog in the City is provided in part by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, and public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.

Fabrication services for Hot Dog in the City were handled by The Factory NYC, Stronghold Fine Arts and Themendous Scenic Studios. A special thank you to Marc Agger at Agger Fish Co.

Host or Publisher Times Square Arts