In 2013 the title of World’s Largest Popcorn Ball was pulled out from under the 5,000 pound behemoth which residents from all over Sac County stuck together in 2009. Now, in the summer of 2016, the three-time Guinness World Record holders have announced their challenge, along with a date, that they plan to reclaim their title. Organizer Brandy Ripley, of Sac Economic & Tourism Development, says the last Sac County record holding popcorn ball was stuck together with the help of 253 volunteers who worked on the messy mass for nearly 13 hours. The resulting 8 foot 4 inch tall popcorn ball, with a circumference of 28.8 feet, was so large it had to be weighed-in using scales from the Iowa Department of Transportation.
For their fourth attempt at setting a new Guinness World Record organizers will have to top the current record holder: a 6,500 pound popcorn ball created three years ago at the Indiana State Fair. Ripley says it’s going to take a lot of popcorn, syrup, sugar, and volunteers to pack together a recorder breaker and they’ve set a goal to make an 8,000 pound popcorn ball this year. So get out your rubber gloves and mark your calendars for 8:00 am on June 18, 2016 when the Noble Popcorn plant in Sac City will welcome hundreds of volunteers to pack, punch, mold, and shape what they hope will mark a new page in the Guinness World Record book.
For more information or to volunteer contact Ripley at 712-664-2940 (or via email at bripley[at]saccountyiowa.com). The previous record holding Sac County created popcorn ball is still on display at the Sac City Museum Village located on old Highway 20, and though it’s been outdone, the massive popcorn ball still provides ample opportunities for visitor photo-ops.
