Organizers of the Belmont Festival at Garden City will "wing it" this year as planning for the annual event in celebration of the final leg of the Triple Crown enters its final weeks.

On Friday, June 5, the eve of the 141st running of the Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park, Garden City residents will be invited to participate in a chicken wing competition while their children offer a postmodern look at the festivities by partaking in a poster contest.

This year's art contest, hosted by Sunflower Fine Art Gallery, will take on a patriotic hue as children are encouraged to emphasize "Red, White and Blue" to coincide with the overriding theme of the Garden City Belmont Festival: A Salute to America.

The United States Air Force Band of Liberty rock band Afterburner will headline this year's Garden City festival which will take place on Seventh Street between the hours of 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. Local bands Papa Rowe, Six Gun and Fivestones are also planning to perform, in addition to street performers.

Participants in the children's poster contest must be residents of Garden City who are currently enrolled in grades K - 6. Children are encouraged to submit images of thoroughbred racing on heavy white poster paper, sized 16"x 20". Students must print their name, age, grade and school on back of the artwork. Deadline for entry is Saturday, May 30 at 5 p.m. at Sunflower Fine Art Gallery, located at 172 Seventh Street in Garden City. All entries must be dropped off in person. The top three winners will be awarded cash prizes from Sunflower Fine Art and their names will appear in the local papers.

"This is such a great way to get kids and families involved in the Garden City Belmont Festival," said Jennifer Longo, Sunflower Fine Art Gallery Director. "Last year we had between 200 and 250 entries. Not only does this contest celebrate the spirit of thoroughbred racing, but it also brings fine arts to the forefront, and these are two things we feel strongly about."

All artwork submitted by the deadline will be displayed in store windows along Seventh Street and Franklin Avenue. Designated locations of each child's artwork will be posted on www.sunflowerfineart.com/events beginning on June 3.

In addition to the poster contest, the Garden City Belmont Festival will be a flavorful affair featuring a "Wing Off" chicken wing competition from 7 p.m. - 9 p.m. Four restaurants are currently confirmed to take part in the cluck-off: Uptown Grille, J.P. McGeevers, Murphy's, and Walk Street.

Judges will be plucked from the general public as any passerby can get in on the action for $8 which includes a plate of wings and a ballot. The winner of the Wing Off will be announced at 9:30 p.m. All proceeds benefit the Mollie Biggane Melanoma Foundation, an eponymous charity named for a Garden City resident who died from melanoma at the age of 20. Local restaurants wishing to participate should contact Scott Sheridan at 516-761-1457 or Tim Peeples at 516-459-3740.

The Belmont Festival at Garden City will also feature clowns, face painters, the Belmont Park starting gate and Sammy the Bugler, who is renowned for his talented and spirited "Call to the Post" prior to the start of each thoroughbred race at Belmont Park.

Festival organizers are encouraging attendees to wear red, white and blue in honor of America.

The Garden City Belmont Festival is sponsored by the Garden City Hotel, Village of Garden City, Garden City Chamber of Commerce, Coca Cola, the New York Lottery and the New York Racing Association (NYRA).

For more information about the Belmont Festival at Garden City, or to participate in any of its events, contact Mary Dolan Grippo at 516-571-1936 or mgrippo@nassauida.org.

The 141st running of the $1 million Belmont Stakes, the 11¼2-mile "Test of the Champion" and the oldest and final leg of the Tripe Crown for three-year-olds, will be held on Saturday, June 6 at historic Belmont Park.

For more information about the Belmont Stakes, visit www.nyra.com or call 516-488-6000.