Maui Onions in Hawaii

Maui, HI, will be more than an island paradise on Sunday, August 8, 2004 as the Whalers Village Maui Onion Festival holds the 2004 World Maui Onion Eating Championship.

The epic battle will pit competitive eating superstar Eric ‘Badlands’ Booker, currently ranked #4 in the world by the International Federation of Competitive Eating, against reigning world champion Eric ‘The Onion King’ Seigmund. (Seigmund is known as Seigmund the Seamonster by some.)

Booker, who will travel all the way from New York to compete, holds numerous gurgitory records including 48 donuts in eight minutes, 15 beef burritos in eight minutes, 4 pounds of corned beef hash in eight minutes, 21 baseball-sized matzo balls in six minutes, and 9.5 pounds of peas in 12 minutes. Booker also ate 30½ hot dogs and buns in 12 minutes on July 4, 2002 to finish second to world champion Takeru Kobayashi in the Nathan’s Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest in Coney Island, NY.

“While Eric Booker is truly one of the sport’s greatest competitors, this will be no easy test,” said David Baer, Director of Global Expansion for the IFOCE. “He will have to overcome a strong field of eaters, jet lag and the mighty onion itself in order to return to the mainland victorious.”

The 15th Annual Whalers Village Maui Onion Festival presented by Marriott’s Maui Ocean Club is sponsored by Aloha Airlines, This Week Magazines, Hawaiian Cablevision, KAOI Radio and Akina Aloha Tours, with support from the Fairway Shops at Kaanapali. There are still spots available to compete, and those interested who are 18 years and over can email onions@ifoce.com or call (212) 627-5766 to register. The IFOCE is sanctioning the event and will handle all registration.

Maui’s premier oceanfront shopping center, Whalers Village is home to a vibrant variety of 70 fine shops and restaurants. It is located on beautiful Kaanapali Beach and distinguished by a free whaling museum, free entertainment, beachfront dining, quality apparel boutiques, Hawaiian gift shops and unique jewelry stores. Whalers Village is open from 9:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. Call 808-661-4567 or visit www.whalersvillage.com.