http://burgerdays.com

Wearing red, white and blue and waving around sparklers is one way to celebrate the Fourth of the July. Another, far greasier way to celebrate America's birthday, however, is to shove a whole hell of a lot of burgers into your face. Local fast-food chain Z-Burger is on the lookout for competitors to compete in its annual Independence Burger Eating Contest taking place Friday, July 1. Last year, the top-ranked woman in the world of competitive eating, Molly Schuyler, took down 26 burgers in 10 minutes earning the burger-eating title and $1,500 in cold, hard cash. In 2016, prizes will be given out to the top 10 finishers including cash for the biggest gluttons and Z-Burger gift certificates for the rest. Those interested in competing in the seventh annual event can visit zburgereatingcontest.com or email info@zburgereatingcontest.com for more information. The competition is set for Friday, July 1, at noon at Z-Burger's Tenleytown location at 4321 Wisconsin Avenue NW in D.C. For what it's worth, we tried our hands (mouths?) at the competition a few years back but didn't fare too well. However, the ensuing fireworks display in the bathroom did rival that of the show put on at the Mall, so hey, there's always that to look forward to.  If you're not down for a burger toilet tribute, you can always just go and watch the whole thing – if you're still hungry after the show, there will be free burgers for the audience immediately following the competition.