Katz Deli 125th celebration: pastrami eating contest, more

The annual Orchard Street Day Life Festival has something special to celebrate this year – the 125th birthday of the iconic Katz’s Delicatesen, being celebrated with a pastrami eating contest. There are plenty of other activities, too, including food from the best of the Lower East Side on old-fashioned pushcarts, FREE yoga lessons (bring your own mat); live music, outdoor games,  face painters for the kids, even DJ lessons from Scratch DJ Academy . The street fair is Sunday, June 2nd, noon-5 p.m. (Rain date June 9th) The pastrami-eating contest is at 2 p.m.  On Orchard St. between East Houston and Delancey.  Katz’s Deli, is  205 E. Houston St. Event website I have to wonder – how many tons of pastrami, corned beef, tongue, knishes and pickles has Katz’s Deli served up in 125 years?