NEW ORLEANS – July is National Hot Dog Month, and local favorite Dat Dog has again partnered with local nonprofit Son of a Saint for an afternoon of fundraising and festivities Saturday, July 22, at Dat Dog’s 5030 Freret St. location, from 3:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Son of a Saint is a New Orleans-based charity that operates a mentor program for local male youth without fathers present in their lives.
“We’re honored to partner again with the incredible team at Son of a Saint to offer fun and tasty ways people can give back to a great cause during our National Hot Dog Day annual celebration,” said Bill DiPaola, president and COO of Dat Dog Enterprises. “We celebrate the hot dog every day, of course, so this event is really a time for us to connect with the community, have fun, and raise awareness and funds for such a needed cause.”
As per tradition, Dat Dog will hold its “hot dog dressing contest,” with the winning dog being named the “Son of a Saint” specialty dog for the following year. Each year, Dat Dog donates $1 from every Son of a Saint specialty dog sold at all locations back to the nonprofit. The style and flavor profile of the dog changes annually based on the winning contest concept.
This year’s Hot Dog Dressing Contest features celebrity guests and local community leaders as judges and participants, including WDSU Anchor Charles Divins as the Master of Ceremonies. Contestants must create a unique combination of toppings to complement Dat Dog’s Vaucresson sausage—with judges determining the winner.
Confirmed judges include: former Tulane football player Devon Walker, Son of a Saint mentees, Councilwoman LaToya Cantrell and Vance Vaucresson.
Confirmed contestants include: Saints RB Daniel Lasco, Fox 8 Reporter Rob Krieger, local hero Jarrius Robertson, and WWL-TV Anchor Eric Paulsen.
The contest will take place at 4:00 p.m. during the event.
Activities and partners for the event include:
• All-day happy hour hot dogs ($5 select dogs)
• Drink specials
• Raffle to benefit Son of a Saint (including a football signed by Saints players, Prytania Theatre tickets, Audubon Institute passes, Dat Dog gift cards and merchandise, hot dog art and more)
• Urban South Brewery on tap—Dat Dog to donate a percentage of sales from Urban South beers that day back to Son of a Saint
• Featured artists from the Magazine St. Art Market
• New Orleans Ice Cream
• GameStop on site with open “Smash Bros.” gaming tournament
• Local artist Julia Lavigne painting live dog portraits
• Professional digital photo booth with an array of props, including a hot dog cutout
• Face painting
• Hot Dog Dressing Contest (takes places at 4:00 p.m.)
This year, Dat Dog partnered with New Orleans’ Creole sausage king, Vaucresson’s Sausage Company, to produce the new Dat Dog Creole hot sausage. The relationship between Dat Dog’s owners and the Vaucressons spans more than 50 years, when Dat Dog founder and CEO, Constantine Georges’ father, Dennis, and Sonny Vaucresson, father of current Vaucresson’s president, Vance Vaucresson, shared business ventures through the local wholesale food distributor, Imperial Trading Company.
Today, Vaucresson’s Sausage Company is the only remaining original food vendor at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. Dat Dog is proud to offer its Vaucresson Creole hot sausage at all locations.
Dat Dog also announced its franchising program this year, with future Dat Dog locations planned for Houston and Baton Rouge. Dat Dog will also open a corporate-owned store in Lafayette, Louisiana, later this summer, along with a restaurant in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, in 2018.
