Slinging wings

Only 50 years ago, many chefs regarded chicken wings as essentially useless. Then, in 1964, Buffalo bar owner Teressa Bellissimo made food history when she split the appendages in half, dropped them in a deep fryer and coated them in butter and hot sauce. To showcase the breadth of wing-based cuisine, Sactown Wings will serve more than 40,000 of them on July 30 at Southside Park from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. during their fourth annual, eponymous festival. The fest will feature chicken from local eateries like Barwest, Kupros Craft House as well as Adamo’s Kitchen, which will offer lemon pepper, barbecue and extra-spicy “Ass Fire” hot wings. Tickets cost $10 in advance or $15 at the door, then guests can purchase as many tickets as they please for wings ($1) and beer ($5 for 14 ounces). There’ll be a wing-eating competition, live music from Top 40 cover band Groove Thang and plenty of shade thanks to the tall trees in one of Sacramento’s prettiest parks.