Plusquellic held his press conference at the Menches Brothers Restaurant at Canal Park. The Menches family claims their ancestors, Frank and Charles Menches, two brothers who lived and worked in Akron, invented the hamburger at the New York State Fair in 1885.

The claim of ‘who invented the hamburger,’ may finally be laid to rest at this year’s event during the first-ever "Hamburger Hearings,"a mock trial that will be conducted on the main stage at Canal Park during the weekend among Akron’s Menches clan and other contestants. It may turn out to be the Food Trial of the Century.

Seymour, Wisconsin says it was Charlie Nagreen who invented the sandwich in their town that year. New Haven, Connecticut insists it was Louis Lasser who "flipped" the first burger in 1900. Or, was it Fletcher Davis of Athens, Texas, who did it first, in 1904? Each of them will make their case during the "Hamburger Hearings", while their hometown delegations cheer them on.

At today’s press conference, the Menches Brothers introduced their latest invention, "The Coondog Burger" - - a 10 pound delicacy made with the original Menches Brothers recipe from 1885 - - and named in honor of Akron’s own nationally-known competitive eater David "Coondog" O’Karma. As part of his training for the state of Ohio Hamburger Eating Championship to be held at the festival, O’Karma will attempt to consume this carnivorous monster in 10 minutes or less.

The National Hamburger Festival is the brainchild of Drew Cerza, president and CEO of the RMI Promotion Group of New York, which also organizes the highly successful National Buffalo Wing Festival in Buffalo, NY. The 2005 "Wing Fest" drew nearly 69,000 visitors. RMI has a decade-long record of successful event management across the country.

"Akron is the perfect place for this great national festival," said Cerza. "After all, Akron is an All America City and is home to the National Inventor’s Hall of Fame. This summer Akron will be able to brand itself as the "Hamburger Capital of the World".

Akron Children’s Hospital will benefit from net revenue raised from the festival and will also provide volunteers who will work during the event. Monies raised will go to the Campaign for Kids, the largest fund-raising initiative in the hospital’s history with a $100 million goal for hospital endowment, equipment, and programs.

The festival will feature more than twenty local and national restaurants serving their hamburger specialties to thousands of festival attendees. Additional summer dishes and Akron Food Favorites will also be available.

The festival will also offer live music, including Pirate Dreams - - the ultimate tribute to Jimmy Buffett. There will also be children’s activities, a cooking stage, and contests galore: the "Bobbing for Burgers" contest, the Miss Hamburger Festival contest, and the Ohio Hamburger Eating Championship along with a Best Burger challenge for both amateurs and competing restaurants.

Promoters of the National Hamburger Festival say that fans will certainly "relish" tickets at a cost of $5.00 for adults and children 8 and older. Those 7 and under are admitted free.