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Utica Riggie Fest

January 29, 2008 by  
Filed under festivals, resorts

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April is almost here (yeah, right) in Upstate New York! No, actually April seems like a million miles away…. but it’s never too early to plan for the official Utica Riggie Fest! The Hotel Utica has a traveler’s package running right now. They call it the “Epicurean Escape.” It looks like a real “feed your face” kind of package– check out the riggies at the Riggie Fest and return to the Hotel for dinner!

The Hotel website graciously lists some interesting Riggie Fest facts:

The aroma of chicken riggies wafting through the Mohawk Valley on May 20, 2006 brought nearly 4,000 riggie voters to Utica’s Riggiefest.

Over a dozen area restaurants participated.

52,000 4 oz. cups of chicken riggies were served.

More than 1,000 lbs of chicken, 2,500 lbs of rigatoni and more than 100 gallons of sauce were used.

The 2006 Utica’s Riggiefest raised more than $21,000 in support of the YWCA.

This year’s fest is taking place on April 25, 2008.

Want to know more? Wondering what on earth is a Riggie Fest? Check out this website for more info. Manja! Manja!

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Comments

6 Comments on "Utica Riggie Fest"

  1. Mary on Tue, 29th Jan 2008 1:00 pm 

    This years Riggie Cook-off is actually on April 26th at the Utica Memorial Auditorium from Noon–3pm. There are some brand new events Friday night in conjunction with Utica’s Riggiefest…check out http://www.ywcamv.org to see what is new this year and event details.

  2. Nikki on Thu, 31st Jan 2008 10:47 pm 

    This breaks my heart! why would they schedule it before the college kids come home! Im going to go pout!

  3. Peggy on Tue, 26th Feb 2008 8:42 am 

    I watched Rachel Ray cook chicken riggies,yummy,so I tried my hand at this recipe,it was very good.

  4. Dave Gibson, Founder of the Riggiefest on Thu, 27th Mar 2008 3:08 pm 

    Nikki, I founded the event to promote Central New York, introduce people to a dish that Uticans and Romans have enjoyed for almost 30 years, and to raise revenues for the YWCA. We scheduled the event before the college kids went home because we want them to remember the riggies, tell their parents, and tell their friends. Clam chowder, Buffalo Wings, and gumbo are foods that eventually crossed their respective state lines so that Americans from all over the country could enjoy them. I believe that it is now time for the rest of the country to come to us to enjoy our riggies.

    The Riggiefest is a family event where the 15 restaurants are the featured attraction, but we include a wine tasting, a children’s section of riggie-based arts and crafts, great music, and riggie hats, t-shirts, and other gear for sale.

    This is not a rowdy Thursday night fiasco, Nikki, this is a classy event and the college kids appreciate it. I hope you will come and join us for the fun. Where else can you try riggies of 15 different varieties and vote for your favorite…Only at the Riggiefest!!

    Come one, come all…

  5. Mrs. Mecomber on Thu, 27th Mar 2008 4:01 pm 

    Hey Dave, thanks for your comment. It’s helpful to have the information. And it’s great to have you visit the blog!

  6. Becky Madrak on Sun, 18th Oct 2009 9:24 pm 

    Hi, i have a great recipe for chicken riggies i would like to submit to this contest. Please email me. Thank you Beck

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