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Chris Stephens/PDDave "Coondog" O'Karma eats a 5-pound hamburger last year at a promotional event for the National Hamburger Festival. Akron Mayor Don Plusquellic is to his left, eating a much smaller burger. The event kicks off again Saturday.

National Hamburger Festival
Where: Lock 3 Park, 200 S. Main St., Akron.
When: Noon-10:30 p.m. Saturday, noon-7 p.m. Sunday.
Admission: $5 for adults, free for children under 48 inches tall.

Nathan's Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest on Coney Island is the unofficial kickoff of the competitive-eating season.

With that gorgefest out of the way, fairs and festivals across the country will keep the "sport" alive with eating contests featuring pizza, sausage, corn, pierogi and hamburgers. Akron's annual National Hamburger Festival, which opens at noon today and runs through Sunday night will host a hamburger-eating contest tonight at 6.

Representing Cleveland will be competitive eater Dave "Coondog" O'Karma. The 52-year-old painting contractor from Cuyahoga Falls will be going for the three-peat tonight, having won the last two Akron competitions.

"I've won the hamburger title twice -- no one beats me on my home turf," said O'Karma. "I got some clown from Pittsburgh coming who's talking smack."

The Pittsburgh "clown" is Pete "Big Plate" Maurizio. "I'm going to beat Coondog the way the Steelers beat the Browns. He's an old man," said Maurizio, 42.

O'Karma is no slouch. In 2003, he devoured 28 pierogi in three minutes at the Slavic Village Festival -- 15 more than the previous record. He has gobbled corn, pineapple, chicken wings and doughnuts. He's competed in Japan twice.

O'Karma and another eater from New York, Arnie "Chowhound" Chapman, formed the Association of Independent Competitive Eaters, or AICE, whose "picnic style" rules do not allow contestants to dip their food in water as allowed by the New York-based Major League Eaters. The only AICE-sanctioned events in Ohio are tonight's hamburger contest and the North Canton Chili Open in February.

Last March, AICE sponsored a brownie-eating contest in Cleveland Heights. They look to sponsor other eaters when they are invited to events.

"We were trying to make Cleveland the world's brownie capital, tying it to the Cleveland Browns," said O'Karma. "Hey, we're a business. We try every angle we can."

College student and first-time competitive eater Kevin Kordalski, 19, was discovered by O'Karma at the brownie-eating contest. The 6-foot, 230-pound sophomore from the College of Wooster inhaled 2 pounds of brownies in six minutes, two nights in a row.

"He showed promise for a kid in his first time out," said O'Karma of his protege. "He is AA material right now. He has good potential but needs seasoning on the pro circuit."

Kordalski will compete in Akron tonight. He says his gift for eating can also be a curse. "You always feel a little bit empty inside," he said.

It sounds like O'Karma will have his hands -- and mouth -- full tonight.

"Tell that has-been Coondog I said to bring whatever he has left of his game," said Maurizio.

"I'll die before I let a Pittsburgh person take my title," countered O'Karma. "I'll chew this guy up and spit him out." 

HUNGRY FOR MORE?

More Ohio eating competitions scheduled for this summer:

July 19: National Hamburger Festival, Akron
July 30: Pizza, Columbus Zoo
Aug. 1: Chili Coney, Camp Washington Fountain Square, Cincinnati
Aug. 2: Pulled pork, Famous Dave's BBQ, Promenade Park, Toledo.
Aug. 2: Hot dogs, Dan's Dogs, Medina Square.
Aug. 9: Corn on the cob, North Ridgeville Corn Festival.
Aug. 23: Pierogi, Slavic Village Festival, Cleveland.
Aug. 27-30 -- Corn on the cob, Sweet Corn Festival, Millersport.