Food: iLoveMikeLitt's 4th Annual Veggie Hot Dog Eating Contest

The Independence Day hot dog eating contest at Nathan's on Coney Island may be the most well-known example, but for the last three years, the folks at iLoveMikeLitt have been putting a local spin on the uniquely American pastime of stuffing oneself with hot dogs to the delight and disgust of onlookers. This year's contest takes things intergalactic: The Final BUNtier: 4th Annual Veggie Hot Dog Eating Contest, with a cosmic theme and an unspeakably awesome poster, will take place on Sunday from 1-4pm at the Tiniest Bar in Texas.

Host Patrick Robinson of The New Movement will oversee the proceedings, and award-winning composer Graham Reynolds will lay down some keys once the madness beings. Your $5 entry ticket gets you one Tofurkey dog from provider Hot Dog King, some free Nada Moo Ice Cream (while supplies last) and an opportunity to witness gluttony taken to an art form.

If you feel like getting your inner Kobayashi on, you can sign up for the contest here.

This year, there's an adjunct to the eating contest: the first annual Veggie Hot Dog VIDEO Contest. Interested parties (e.g. those who can't make it to the contest or don't want to chow down on veggie dogs) can submit a 2-5 minute video to the judging panel, which includes Tim League of the Alamo Drafthouse, Erik Adams of The Onion's A.V. Club, Scott Beiben and Liz Cole from Evil Twin Booking, and Austinist's own film editor, Stephanie Beasley. The grand prize is a $100 gift card to the Alamo Drafthouse and passes to the 2010 Austin Film Festival.