Evan Martinez keeps his Grove hot dog eating title

The annual 4th of July Hot Dog Eating Contest at CocoWalk is always a lot of fun, it brings out so many spectators. And this year, Evan Martinez, shown here, kept his title by eating the most hot dogs, but he only ate eight to win it this year, last year he tied with David Himmel. They both ate 10.


CocoWalk Marketing Manager, Naomi Evans, left, hosted the contest, as she does every year and this year, Miss Earth Coconut Grove, Sophia Allen (right) and Miss Teen Earth Coconut Grove, Natalie Dubuc-Myers (center) lent a hand.


The contest was 10 minutes and most of the contestants ate about 2.5 hot dogs, not very much when you consider that this year, the winner of Nathan's famous hot dog eating contest, Joey Chestnut, ate 62 hot dogs in 10 minutes!


But it's really more about the fun than how many hot dogs are eaten. People love it. They hand from the rafters at CocoWalk laughting and yelling.


Evan won a bunch of prizes and certificates donated by CocoWalk merchants. And in the end, the crowd is able to grab at the pile of uneaten hot dogs and enjoy.


The hot dog eaters are encouraged by the Hooters girls who help them with the dogs and drinks and the girls also do the count, but at 2.5 hot dogs, there's not much counting going on. But lots of fun anyway.