OLEAN. N.Y. — Are the Twin Tiers ready for some football?
The Greater Olean Area Chamber of Commerce has detailed its plans for Tailgate Thursday, set for 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. Oct. 26 in Lincoln Park. That evening’s NFL game between the Buffalo Bills against the visiting Tampa Bay Buccaneers begins at 8:15 p.m.
“The idea of the event is pretty clear — although the ‘real tailgating’ is happening 60 miles north in Orchard Park — we are inviting those closer to tailgate with us, celebrate fall and football and get some good food,” said Chamber COO Meme Yanetsko.
The event ends at 8:30 p.m., after which GOACC encourages those in attendance to visit some of the member restaurants around the park to watch the game — Four Mile Brewing Co., Old Library Restaurant, Union Whiskey, Napoli Pizza and House’s Parkwood among them.
Tickets are $35 and include 10 wings, two beers, tailgate cap and entry into either the cornhole or disc golf tournaments.
“We are connecting with 10 member restaurants for them to provide wings for our Tailgate,” said Lyndsey Churakos, the Chamber’s member services manager.
Restaurants confirmed are Third Base Bar & Grill, Woodside on the Range, Randy’s Up the River, Hometown Bar & Grill, Napoli’s Pizza, Tasta Pizza, Parkwood, Clark’s Subs and On The Side Sub Shop and, tentatively, Mangia Pizza.
“We are planning for 200 fans to attend our event, which means 2,000 wings,” Churakos said. “By splitting it up between our member restaurants, no one would be overwhelmed solely by the 2,000 wings — and our fans will then be able to taste the wings and pick and choose from the samplings.”
Four Mile Brewing will offer beers, wines and ciders that they have at their restaurant. There will also be non-alcoholic beverages provided, water and soda, Churakos said.
In addition to the wings, other food options include Sweet Ride Donut Truck, specializing in mini donuts, craft coffees and teas, and the Pizza Napoli Bradford trailer, serving pizza, calazones, sandwiches and more.
There is also a raffle for a one-of-a-kind item — a 15×28” wooden flag that depicts the Bills logo in a patriotic color scheme. The flags are hand-carved by Olean resident Bob Scanlon and are made out of pine. Depending on the sports theme of the flag, he paints them, applies decals and then polyurethanes it.
Christine Boser, GOACC administrative associate, said, “Committee member Colleen Taggerty suggested that we raffle off a Bills item — a jersey or a football — but when we saw this flag, we knew we had a winner.”
Tickets are $10 with a limit of 300 to be sold. They can be purchased at the Chamber and with many committee members.
The winner will be drawn during Tailgate Thursday.
The cornhole tournament is a blind draw where players are randomly paired up and double elimination competition, with 15-minute games or 21 points and a cash payout based on number of teams.
The disc golf tourney will feature a game called 21, “where precision meets excitement.”
The committee connected with Charles Givens of the Olean Cornhole Club and Rich Longer of the Twin Tiers Disc Golf Association to organize the tournaments, Yanetsko said. For those purchasing the tailgate pass, admission into one of the two tourneys is included.
Several exhibitions will also be part of the event. The Olean Family YMCA staff have sports skills challenges for all to take part in. Some activities may include attempting to score soccer goals and football toss. These are free for all ages and prizes will be available.
Jim Beverly of Oakfield will be at the Tailgate Thursday showcasing his dog training with demonstrations and waterfowl hunting tips. Participants may bring a dog on a lead to the park and get some tips.
Beverly, a well-known retriever trainer in Western New York, has 52 years of experience in waterfowl hunting and specializes in training the companion hunting retriever and handler.
WPIG-FM/Seven Mountains Media is a media sponsor and will provide music from their station for the event. The station will also air the pregame Bills show with Chris Brown.
The chamber noted that there are 47 sponsors for the event as well as Directions in Independent Living as Bling Wing Sponsor; Interfaith Caregivers as Tailgate Sponsor and Nick Shembeda Plumbing and Heating as Wristband Sponsor.
Tickets may be purchased online at shop.oleanny.com or at the Chamber office, 301 N. Union St. For more information, call (716) 372-4433 or email info@oleanny.com.
