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Photo by Jon Anderson
Lindsay Moryoussef bites into a wing at the Wing Ding 2024 wings cookoff at Vestavia Hills City Hall on Saturday, April 27, 2024.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
Members of the Elite Orthopedic and Spine team pose with their trophies for winning first place in the People's Choice division and the fried wings division at the Wing Ding 2024 wings cookoff at Vestavia Hills City Hall on Saturday, April 27, 2024.
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Wings cook on the grill at the Moore's Marinade booth at the Wing Ding 2024 wings cookoff at Vestavia Hills City Hall on Saturday, April 27, 2024.
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Representatives from the Moore's Marinade team pose with their trophy for winning first place in the grilled/smoked division at the Wing Ding 2024 wings cookoff at Vestavia Hills City Hall on Saturday, April 27, 2024.
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Izzy Martin, a sophomore at Vestavia Hills High School, poses for a photo at at the Wing Ding 2024 wings cookoff at Vestavia Hills City Hall on Saturday, April 27, 2024.
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William and Magen Wright with their 7-year-old twins, Campbell and Merritt, at the Wing Ding 2024 wings cookoff at Vestavia Hills City Hall on Saturday, April 27, 2024. Campbell and Merritt have cystic fibrosis, and the primary beneficiary of proceeds from the Wing Ding event is the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
Sadie Kilgore, 3, takes a taste of her ice cream cone at the Wing Ding 2024 wings cookoff at Vestavia Hills City Hall on Saturday, April 27, 2024.
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Ray Shepherd, left, and Chad Littleton at the Innisfree Irish Pub tent at the Wing Ding 2024 wings cookoff at Vestavia Hills City Hall on Saturday, April 27, 2024.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
People listen to music and eat wings at the Wing Ding 2024 wings cookoff at Vestavia Hills City Hall on Saturday, April 27, 2024.
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Anna Reynolds, the lead singer for Mad Day Out ,dances during their performance at the Wing Ding 2024 wings cookoff at Vestavia Hills City Hall on Saturday, April 27, 2024.
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Mason Vice and J.C. Groat prepare wings for the Ready Mix USA team at the Wing Ding 2024 wings cookoff at Vestavia Hills City Hall on Saturday, April 27, 2024.
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Southern barbecue wings with Asian white barbecue sauce sit ready to be served from the Ascension Episcopal Church tent at the Wing Ding 2024 wings cookoff at Vestavia Hills City Hall on Saturday, April 27, 2024.
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Women relax at the Wing Ding 2024 wings cookoff at Vestavia Hills City Hall on Saturday, April 27, 2024. From left are Gisoon Park, Eung Kim, Kelly Yon and Young Mi.
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Cheyenne Cobble, Hillary Carnel and Margaret Smith serve people at the Elite Orthopedic & Spine tent at the Wing Ding 2024 wings cookoff at Vestavia Hills City Hall on Saturday, April 27, 2024.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
The Ready Mix USA team poses for a photo at the Wing Ding 2024 wings cookoff at Vestavia Hills City Hall on Saturday, April 27, 2024. From left are Mason Vice, Andew Cox, Tyler Littlejohn, Carson Hirschler and J.C. Groat.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
People listen to music at the Wing Ding 2024 wings cookoff at Vestavia Hills City Hall on Saturday, April 27, 2024.
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Meats in the Moore's Marinade smoker at the Wing Ding 2024 wings cookoff at Vestavia Hills City Hall on Saturday, April 27, 2024.
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The Mad Day Out band performs at the Wing Ding 2024 wings cookoff at Vestavia Hills City Hall on Saturday, April 27, 2024.
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Rex Blackburn plays the guitar for the Mad Day Out band at the Wing Ding 2024 wings cookoff at Vestavia Hills City Hall on Saturday, April 27, 2024.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
People listen to music and eat wings at the Wing Ding 2024 wings cookoff at Vestavia Hills City Hall on Saturday, April 27, 2024.
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Stan Sartin prepares wings for the Moore's Marinade team at the Wing Ding 2024 wings cookoff at Vestavia Hills City Hall on Saturday, April 27, 2024.
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Vestavia Hills police officer Casey Cooper listens to music with his dog, Othell, at the Wing Ding 2024 wings cookoff at Vestavia Hills City Hall on Saturday, April 27, 2024.
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The official T-shirt for the Wing Ding 2024 wings cookoff at Vestavia Hills City Hall on Saturday, April 27, 2024.
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Adam Anderson of Gardendale, Alabama, bites into a wing at the Wing Ding 2024 wings cookoff at Vestavia Hills City Hall on Saturday, April 27, 2024.
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Wings cook at the CDFL architectural and engineering firm's tent at the Wing Ding 2024 wings cookoff at Vestavia Hills City Hall on Saturday, April 27, 2024.
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Larry Darnell, also known as "Mr. Larry" the balloon artist and magician, creates balloon art for Sikes Rummage, 4, of Vestavia Hills, Alabama, at the Wing Ding 2024 wings cookoff at Vestavia Hills City Hall on Saturday, April 27, 2024.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
Pool Hall Special performs at the Wing Ding 2024 wings cookoff at Vestavia Hills City Hall on Saturday, April 27, 2024. At left is Wes Carroll, and in the center is Brent Irby.
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Wyatt Boyles, 2, slides down an inflatable slide at the Wing Ding 2024 wings cookoff at Vestavia Hills City Hall on Saturday, April 27, 2024.
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John Clarke Gentle takes a turn in the dunking booth at the Wing Ding 2024 wings cookoff at Vestavia Hills City Hall on Saturday, April 27, 2024.
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Waller Sorrell, left, serves wings at the Ascension Episcopal Church tent Wing Ding 2024 wings cookoff at Vestavia Hills City Hall on Saturday, April 27, 2024.
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Boys play on an inflatable at the Wing Ding 2024 wings cookoff at Vestavia Hills City Hall on Saturday, April 27, 2024.
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People listen to music at the Wing Ding 2024 wings cookoff at Vestavia Hills City Hall on Saturday, April 27, 2024.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
People listen to music and eat wings at the Wing Ding 2024 wings cookoff at Vestavia Hills City Hall on Saturday, April 27, 2024.
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Parker Glenn, 5, of Vestavia Hills, tries to knock someone into the water at the dunking booth at the Wing Ding 2024 wings cookoff at Vestavia Hills City Hall on Saturday, April 27, 2024.
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Leadership Vestavia Hills President Shannon Stewart takes her turn in the dunking booth at the Wing Ding 2024 wings cookoff at Vestavia Hills City Hall on Saturday, April 27, 2024.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
People listen to music at the Wing Ding 2024 wings cookoff at Vestavia Hills City Hall on Saturday, April 27, 2024.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
Brent Irby, the lead singer for Pool Hall Special, performs with the band at the Wing Ding 2024 wings cookoff at Vestavia Hills City Hall on Saturday, April 27, 2024.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
People make their way through the crowd at the Wing Ding 2024 wings cookoff at Vestavia Hills City Hall on Saturday, April 27, 2024.
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Vestavia Belles Bailey Waguespack, left, and Ridley Tate Box pose for a photo at the Wing Ding 2024 wings cookoff at Vestavia Hills City Hall on Saturday, April 27, 2024.
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People make their way through the crowd at the Wing Ding 2024 wings cookoff at Vestavia Hills City Hall on Saturday, April 27, 2024.
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The Marathon Electric team serves wings at the Wing Ding 2024 wings cookoff at Vestavia Hills City Hall on Saturday, April 27, 2024. At right is Bobbi DeVore.
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Bruce Swindal and Joshua Swindal prepare wings af the Vestavia Primitive Baptist Church tent at the Wing Ding 2024 wings cookoff at Vestavia Hills City Hall on Saturday, April 27, 2024.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
The Marathon Electric team serves wings at the Wing Ding 2024 wings cookoff at Vestavia Hills City Hall on Saturday, April 27, 2024.
Thousands of people came to Vestavia Hills City Hall on Saturday for the Wing Ding 2024 wings cookoff, and Elite Orthopedics and Spine walked away with the People’s Choice award and first place in fried wings.
Twenty teams competed in the cookoff, which was a fundraiser organized by Leadership Vestavia Hills for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and college scholarships for high school students.
Here’s the complete list of winners:
People Choice:
- 1st Place – Elite Orthopedics and Spine
- 2nd Place – Hoar Construction
- 3rd Place – Cahaba Benefits Group
Fried Wings:
- 1st Place – Elite Orthopedics and Spine
- 2nd Place – Vestavia Primitive Baptist Church
- 3rd Place – Keller & The Wright Fight
Grilled/smoked Wings:
- 1st Place – Moore’s Marinade
- 2nd Place – John Henley State Farm Insurance Agent
- 3rd Place – Marathon Electric and Cahaba Benefits Group (tie)
Spirit Award – Hoar Construction
The event took place on the front lawn and driveway of Vestavia Hills City Hall, drawing a crowd that filled surrounding parking lots and spilled over into other parking lots across U.S. 31. Vestavia Hills police officers estimated about 2,500 people were there about midway through the three-hour event, which went from 4 to 7 p.m.
Attendees got to sample as many wings as they could eat with an admission price of $12 in advance, $15 at the gate or $10 with a food donation. Music was provided by Eggos, Mad Day Out and Pool Hall Special.
Leadership Vestavia Hills President Shannon Stewart said she was amazed by the turnout but said it was on par with last year. Last year’s Wing Ding raised probably about $8,000 each for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and Vestavia Hills Parks and Recreation Foundation, plus about $4,000 for scholarships, Stewart said.
This year, some of the money will go to scholarships again, but the rest of the money will go to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, she said. Totals for this year were not yet available.
Magen Wright, a Vestavia Hills resident who has 7-year-old twins with cystic fibrosis, said it’s wonderful that an event like this is able to raise so much money for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
Cystic fibrosis is a rare disease, and there aren’t a lot of people with cystic fibrosis in Vestavia Hills, but the community has just rallied around the foundation, and it truly is making a difference, Wright said.
“They’re actually changing people’s lives,” she said.
She and her husband, William, moved to Vestavia Hills from Texas about four years ago so they could be near cystic fibrosis research being conducted at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and Children’s of Alabama hospital, she said. Events like the Wing Ding confirm to them it was a good decision, she said. “We are in the right place, and we’re with the right people, and we’re really grateful.”
Photo by Jon Anderson
William and Magen Wright with their 7-year-old twins, Campbell and Merritt, at the Wing Ding 2024 wings cookoff at Vestavia Hills City Hall on Saturday, April 27, 2024. Campbell and Merritt have cystic fibrosis, and the primary beneficiary of proceeds from the Wing Ding event is the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation has its annual Great Strides Walk fundraiser for the Birmingham area slated for May 11 at Wald Park at 10 a.m. Click here for more information about the Great Strides Walk and a link to register.
Editor's note: This story was updated at 7:59 a.m. on April 29 to correct the name of the organization for which Shannon Stewart is president. It is Leadership Vestavia Hills.
