Article published August 21, 2004
Pemberville stomachs 'Fair Factor'
New event at annual festival draws those with odd taste for competition
Samantha Worthington and Crosby Schenauer, 14-year-olds from Luckey, and Alyssa Lavoy, 13, of Pemberville, dig in.
(
THE BLADE/JETTA FRASER
)
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By ELIZABETH A. SHACK
BLADE STAFF WRITER
PEMBERVILLE - As if chowing down on live worm pizza and bobbing for meat out of toilet bowls weren't bad enough, most contestants who return for the final round of Pemberville Free Fair's "Fair Factor" competition tonight could face something even more disgusting.
The competition, added as a new twist to this year's free-admission fair, is based on the NBC show Fear Factor, in which contestants are covered in roaches or spiders, locked in coffins, or made to eat live snails, among other stunts. Competitions were held in two groups: high-school students and adults.
"We wanted to bring all the kids into town to have a ball," said Audra Headley, owner of the Front Street Cafe in Pemberville and one of the event's organizers.
Before the first round of the contest began Thursday evening, fairgoers walking by the three seatless, tankless toilet bowls set up in front of the main stage peered at the contents with disgust.
"What is it?" asked Katelyn Miller, 14, of Pemberville, getting her first glimpse of what she was in for as a contestant.
Mrs. Headley had concocted a realistic-looking mixture of cooked mountain oysters, chicken gizzards, chicken necks, water, worcestershire sauce, and corn that filled the bowls to the bottom of the rim."I just made it up," she said. "I'm sick."
Spectators overflowed the stands and many sat on the asphalt in front of the stage to cheer on their friends and family.
Contestants had one minute to remove as many pieces of meat as possible from the bowls, using only their mouths, and spit them into blue dishpans.
They dug right in, splashing liquid they said burned their noses and soaking their hair and T-shirts.
"It was good," Katelyn said after she removed 16 pieces of meat. "I kept taking bites of it. It kept falling out of my mouth."
By the time the first three people finished, the odor of worcestershire sauce and mouthwash drifted across the area.
Like many of the 20 people who signed up for the contest, Pete Nidiffer, 26, of Pemberville, watches the television show.
"We're big fans of Fear Factor," his wife, Treya Nidiffer, 26, said.
The Nidiffers joined up with Kyle Turner, 18, of Perrysburg to try for a prize worth $100 - even though they didn't know what the prize would be.
But that wasn't the only reason.
"I wanted an excuse to eat gross stuff," Mr. Turner said.
He certainly got his chance in the pizza contest, and remained calm while trying to eat two slices of black olive, hot pepper, blue cheese, sardine, and live wriggling worm pizza as quickly as possible.
Ms. Nidiffer, a vegetarian, was not so lucky. She became the first of two people to make use of metal buckets nearby.
The contestants, competing three at a time, had to capture worms that were trying to escape their fate and place them back on the pizzas, which were created by Mrs. Headley.
They were not allowed to get the worst part over with by eating all the worms first.
"It was horrible," said Samantha Worthington, 14, of Luckey. She finished her two pieces first in her heat of three.
"[The worms] weren't that bad," she said. "When they squirm, it's nasty."
In the second high school heat, one boy walked away quickly after taking only a single bite.
"It wasn't the worms, it was the other stuff," he said.
Ryan Frankart, 27, of Pemberville won the first adult heat handily. The secret, he said, was "just get it down."
"Mix the worms with all the toppings, and you can't even taste them," he said.
Two of the six high school age teams were eliminated Thursday, but the others and all three adult teams will compete in three events beginning at 7:30 tonight.
Fair officials weren't revealing too much about what competitors will face.
Mrs. Headley said there would be "a rolling contest with a ball and a foreign substance," a Dumpster dive, and an event that was on the Fear Factor television show.
The contestants weren't too concerned.
"We're daring," Katelyn said.
Contact Elizabeth A. Shack at:
eshack@theblade.com
or 419-724-6050.
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