Belleville has appetite for brat record

BELLEVILLE, Ill. — Belleville doesn’t expect to be hotdogging it when the southwestern Illinois community celebrates its bicentennial. That’s because this 200th birthday blowout is all about the brat.

In a region already sporting what’s billed as the “World’s Largest Ketchup Bottle,” the Belleville News-Democrat reported Belleville hopes to set a Guinness world record for the longest grilled bratwurst.

Organizers say volunteers will cook a 200-foot brat during Oktoberfest weekend in September in the city’s downtown.

Teresa Hessel of the celebration’s organizing committee says the brat can’t break if it’s to set a record, and talks are in the works about building a grill big enough to cook the giant sausage.

Organizers are awaiting word about whether any such record exists or if Belleville will go for one in a new category.