Dill captures fourth eating contest title at Maine Red Hot Dog Festival
DEXTER — He did not quite finish his plate, but one leftover bun did not matter as Alan Dill again earned top honors in Dexter Hannaford’s eating contest at the ninth annual Maine Red Hot Dog Festival Aug. 8 in downtown Dexter.
Dill, 67, of Lincoln, earned the trophy for the third year in a row and fourth time in five years, this time eating the most — 10 hot dogs and buns — among eight competitors in the allotted five minutes.
At 12:30 p.m. the eight contest entrants, six men and two women, took their places on the stage. The goal was to eat 10 W.A. Bean & Sons red snappers the quickest in five minutes, and if no one ate all 10 then the winner would be whoever had the smallest amount of food remaining.
The assembled audience was reminded that among competitors, “There’s no losers, only wieners!”
HOT DIGGITY DOGS! — The ninth edition of the Maine Red Hot Dog Festival took place in downtown Dexter on Saturday, Aug. 8, serving as a fundraiser for the Dexter Development Association which sponsors the day along with a number of other corporate partners and is designed to attract a large number of people to the town where they will see all that Dexter has to offer and to simply have fun. A hot dog eating contest had eight entrants racing to see who could consume 10 hot dogs the fastest. Alan Dill, right, of Lincoln won for the fourth time in five years.
The Maine Red Hot Dog Festival is a fundraiser for the Dexter Development Association, which sponsors the day along with a number of other corporate partners. The event is designed to attract a large number of people to the town where they will see all that Dexter has to offer and to simply have fun.
The top eater wins $50 and a hot dog trophy, complete with a replica mustard-covered weiner atop the award.
As the contest entrants got down to business, they employed different strategies. One opted to eat all the hot dogs first and then consume the water-soaked buns in an attempt to finish before Dill. As time ticked toward conclusion, Dill glanced several times to his right to see how many hot dogs his closest competition still had to consume.
“I’m happy to be back and win it again,” Dill said after the contest with his newly-won trophy in hand. He had on his regular light green pickle-punned person T-shirt for competition with the slogan “Where There’s a Dill, There’s a Way”.
FOUR-TIME CHAMP — Alan Dill of Lincoln, left pictured with Dexter Town Manager Trampas King, repeated as the Maine Red Hot Dog Festival eating contest winner. He earned the wiener’s trophy for the third year in a row and fourth time in five years.
“These hot dogs are the toughest hot dogs I’ve ever faced,” he said, saying they were not breaking down in his mouth in the way he hoped.
In 2024, Dill had all his teeth taken out, and since then he has opted to go denture free in eating contests.
“Not having teeth is definitely a disadvantage in this competition,” he said, as he won with this gums-only method in 2025. “I could have torn through those hot dogs really fast but with no teeth it was like trying to compress them and get them broken down and that was not going very well today, but I am happy to have a win. A win is a win.”
Despite scarfing the dogs with no time to savor the flavor, Dill has not yet tired of them – saying he loves red snappers. At home he just eats the frankfurters because he doesn’t care for white bread.
HANDS FREE — Kids race to eat their cupcakes in the older of two contest divisions – ages 9-14 — during the Maine Red Hot Dog Festival on Aug. 8 in downtown Dexter.
“I like competing against people much younger than me and the fact that I’m 67, I have no teeth,” he said. “I like the friendships that we have among each of the contestants, we’re really rooting for each other. That’s really awesome.””
Dill also enjoys coming to the Maine Red Hot Dog Festival each year, talking with other event attendees before and after the eating contest.
“It feels awesome to be accepted here in Dexter. I look at Dexter as a second home,” he said. “I feel like part of the community even though I’ve never lived here.”
He planned to put his stomach to the test again later in the day by entering the hot dog eating contest at the Bangor State Fair, aiming for his fourth straight title there.
CUPCAKE MEDALISTS — The top three finishers in the age 8 and under division of the children’s cupcake eating contest in Saturday’s Maine Red Hot Dog Festival.
Dill’s gastronomical talents are not limited to hot dogs. He won the adult contest at this year’s Maine Whoopie Pie Festival in Dover-Foxcroft for the second time in three years. His 13-year-old daughter Ethella won the teen division to add to the collection of trophies in their household.
The four-time Maine Red Hot Dog Festival champion will have the opportunity to test his talents against 18-time Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest champion Joey Chestnut later this month prior to a Portland Sea Dogs game when the Double-A baseball team will take to the field with a different nickname for the Aug. 22 game, the Maine Bean Suppahs.
Chesnut, Dill and two other local qualifiers will be part of a pregame competition featuring baked beans, pair of red snappers, brown bread and miniature whoopie pie. Dill hopes to be in the top two on Aug. 22 in Portland.
SUGAR RUSH — Entrants in the younger of two divisions in the children’s cupcake eating contest during the 2026 Maine Red Hot Festival in Dexter.
CLOSED FOR FESTIVAL — Main Street in Dexter during the 2026 Maine Red Hot Dog Festival. The event is a fundraiser for the Dexter Development Association which sponsors the day along with a number of other corporate partners. The festival is designed to attract a large number of people to the town where they will see all that Dexter has to offer and to simply have fun.