The Valparaiso Jaycees humungous, 12 feet in diameter, popcorn ball as the finishing touches are applied. The ball is being covered with popcorn and latex glue. Over 300 garbage bags of popcorn were used to create this atlas of popcorn. The ball will roll down Lincolnway as part of the first Popcorn Festival parade.
This story originally appeared on the front page of The Vidette-Messenger from September 14, 1979.
The largest popcorn ball in the world?
The Valparaiso Jaycees are hoping the 300 garbage bags of popcorn shaped into a large ball will be accepted by the Guinness World Book of Records.
John Worstell said a letter has been received from the Guinness people in New York stating the qualification rules. The Jaycees have followed the rules, keeping track of time spent and will weigh their gigantic entry when finished. The rules also require observers as the work progresses. Worstell and George Neeley, local businessmen connected with Popcorn Festival activities on the Courthouse Square, will prepare the data and submit it to the Guinness office.
When the ball rolls down Lincolnway for the parade, it will be 38 feet in diameter and includes 75 feet of chicken wire. The wire is a frame for the ball into which popcorn was poured to fill it. The frame is attached to a snowmobile trailer.
Four commercial poppers have been popping more than 300 garbage bags of popcorn for two weeks, said Steve Hoard, president of the Jaycees. The ball is now being covered on the outside with, you guessed it, popcorn!
The popcorn for the outside is mixed with latex glue and blown on the ball with an insulation machine. Bruce Evans of Evans Insulation has loaned the machine and his time to put the ball together.
Fifty members of the Jaycees and Jayshees have worked more than a month on the popcorn ball project and have worked non-stop for the past two weeks.
Hoard says if the ball doesn’t make It to the parade, it will be on display at the Jaycee booth near First Federal Savings.