HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) — Local restaurants and amateur chefs prepared 10,000 pounds of chicken wings in Big Spring Park on Saturday. The University of Alabama Huntsville’s (UAH) Alpha Tau Omega fraternity hosted the Battle of the Buffalo Wing Festival benefiting cancer research and patients.

“This is probably our tenth year doing this event, and each year it gets bigger and better, so we’re proud to be a part,” said Cory Miller, cooking for Madison sports bar Parlays.

Thousands bought tickets and partook in the wing festivities.

“There are puppies, wings, music, and it can’t get any better,” said Jessica Segers, an attendee who travel from Maine to enjoy the event.

Proceeds from ticket sales will be donated to the Russel Hill Cancer Foundation and the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology.

Alpha Tau Omega brother Paul “Fish” Salmon was diagnosed with leukemia in 2006. He was treated at Clearview Cancer Institute. When he passed away a year later, his fraternity brothers honored Salmon’s memory by creating a festival centered around his his favorite food, chicken wings.

“It’s grown and morphed into something so much bigger than we could have thought,” Battle of the Buffalo Deputy Director Grant Hershbine. “Now there are around 3,000 or 4,000 people that come out, so now it’s just a community event that raises money for a great cause and honors him.”

Saturday marked the 14th annual Battle of the Buffalo event.

“To pull something like this off is really remarkable,” said Alpha Tau Omega National Fraternity Chief Executive Officer Wynn Smiley. “It’s a one-of-a-kind event.”

The event’s 10,000 pounds of wings were Alabama-raised and donated by Wayne-Sanderson Farms.

“We’re very excited to be a part of this event that promotes cancer research,” said Wayne-Sanderson Farms Decatur Operations Manager Alexander Brown. “We’re always looking for event to sponsor that are near and dear to our hearts.”

Over the years, the festival has raised more than $275,000 dollars for cancer research, treatment, and to provide financial support to terminally-ill patients in the form of transportation, prescription assistance and other critical needs.

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