A NEW Chickin’ Pickin’ Champion is Crowned at Pork in the Park

On a blustery day at the Pork in the Park Festival in Salisbury, MD, Jonathan Wagner of Parsonsburg blows away the competition to claim the coveted title and FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS in prize money!

(Salisbury, MD)  As sparsely populated as Winterplace Park, Salisbury was on Saturday; usually reserved for the heaviest crowd of the three day Pork Barbecue competition, enthusiasm was abundant amongst with the 25 contestants and hundreds of onlookers who braved the possible storms and blustery conditions to witness an ultra-competitive fourth installment of the Mountaire Chickin’ Pickin’ Series.

Those in attendance witnessed history as one local man blew away the competition during Mountaire Chickin’ Pickin’ IV.  Jonathan Wagner of Parsonsburg picked and shredded his way through 8.6 pounds of cooked chicken meat to claim his first Mountaire Chickin’ Pickin’ Championship title and the five hundred dollars in prize money that comes with it.

The festivities began at 2pm when eager television and radio personalities put a charge in the atmosphere during a special Celebrity Chickin’ Pickin’ Challenge.  The crowd, the largest group of people in the park on this day, cheered loudly as WMDT Weekend News Anchor Emily Lampa and Q101’s JJ “Hitman” McKay were joined on the grand stage by the WBOC Meteorology Team of Brian Keane, Jennifer Walker and Eileen Whalen.  From the word GO this diverse group let it all hang out as they vied for the celebrity crown.  Fittingly, on this rainy and windy afternoon, WBOC Weather Guru Brian Keane claimed victory by picking an impressive 7.4 pounds of meat.   Easily earning him the title of Celebrity Champ, a Gold Chickin’ Pickin’ Belt Buckle and a commemorative champions plaque.

The five-round Main Event got underway just after 2:30pm and featured 20 contestants from across Delmarva.  As is usually the case, few possessed any previous chicken picking experience; but that didn’t stop any of them from tearing through one oven roasted bird after another during the five minute rounds of Chickin’ Pickin’ pandemonium.  To whittle twenty competitors down to the final four, there were four preliminary rounds of competition, each one featuring five contestants each. The winner of each round moved onto the fifth and final round to compete for the championship.  Pickin’ was fast and furious throughout, but in the end only four were left standing.  Brian Green (6.8 lbs), Helen Rash (6.0 lbs), Jonathan Wagner (6.8 lbs) and Brandy Wagner (4.12 lbs) all advanced.  With some valuable experience now in tow, each of our finalists stepped it up in the championship. 

After an exciting five minutes of meat picking action it was time to weigh in and see who would be crowned the next Mountaire Chickin’ Pickin’ Champion.  Brian Green was up first and set the bar high at 7.14 lbs.  Helen Rash and Brandy Wagner followed with 7.06 lbs and 5.0 lbs respectively, setting the stage for a dramatic final weigh-in. As Jonathan Wagner’s tray was placed on the scale a hush fell over the crowd.   All eyes were fixated on the scale, watching the needle sway back and forth before settling on 8.06 lbs, good enough to overtake Brian Green and claim the title of Mountaire Chickin’ Pickin’ Champion!

Wagner, who was at the event with his wife and kids, had shown up early on Saturday with the hope of being selected to compete.  And just a few hours later, Roger Marino, Community Relations Director of Mountaire Farms, was presenting him with a check for $500, a Gold Chickin’ Pickin’ Belt Buckle and a champions plaque.

Jonathan will be invited back to defend his title at Mountaire Chickin’ Pickin’ V, set for Saturday, June 18^th at the Delmarva Chicken Festival in Georgetown, Delaware. For more information on Chickin’ Pickin’ or how you can become a contestant visit www.mountaire.com/chickinpickin/or find Mountaire on Facebook at www.facebook.com/mountairefarms.

“The power of enthusiasm!  As a long-time graduate student, believer and practicing advocate of the Dale Carnegie theory that enthusiasm can move mountains, and change negatives to positives, an event we produced and held on the Delmarva Peninsula has renewed faith that the practice of positive thinking is for real.  Rain, heavy at times and winds, heavy all the time, and the ominous threat of a damaging tornado, kept a number of people away from the Pork in the Park contest Saturday, April 16.  Not so with the contestants and followers of our popular Mountaire Chickin’ Pickin’ Contest. They came, celebrity contestants and citizens to sign up to pull and shred the most cooked meat in five minutes.

Enthusiasm was everywhere; the crowd, the contestants and those of us who worked between raindrops, ripping windblasts and microphone disconnects to make this one of the premiere events on Delmarva and expectedly a nationally competitive contest; the show went on.

Yes, enthusiasm was the rock and rolled at Pork in the Park and enthusiastic crowds were no doubt the catalyst that caused the weather to cooperate; long enough for us to get the game in as the crowds cheered our stalwart contestants in an event that is fast becoming the main enthusiasm at Delmarva happenings.” - Roger Marino, Mountaire Corporate Director of Community Relations.

About Chickin’ Pickin’

The Mountaire Chickin’ Pickin’ Championship pits 20 contestants against one another in a contest of speed, skill and strategy.  Each event features four preliminary heats of five competitors each, with our four winners advancing to the finals.  In the simplest terms, our winners are determined by who can pick and shred the most meat from our oven roasted chicken(s) in a 5 minute time frame.  Contestants have access to an unlimited amount of cooked ‘birds, HOWEVER, they must pick and shred all the meat and skin from a single ‘bird before moving on to a new one.  That includes meat from the breast, thighs, legs, wings and back.  The picked meat is thrown into a collection tray, which gets weighed at competitions end to determine our winner. Contest judges are on hand to specify when a contestants ‘bird is deemed fully picked, thus allowing them to start a new one.  This process will go on for the entire (5) minutes. There can be zero bones or large chunks of meat in the collection tray.  Such items will be removed before being weighed.