One of the highlights of Belleville200 was the city’s attempt to grill a 200 foot long brat…a world record attempt. Just for perspective, the brat pretty much stretched from Main St. to A St…that a lot of bratwurst! 120 pounds of meat was donated by Schubert’s Packing Co., of Millstadt, and they were on hand to guide the effort. Also on hand were the mayors of Belleville and our sister city of Paderborn, Germany, and Belleville resident and St. Louis TV personality John Pertzborn. Several trial runs had been done on smaller sausages, and they ensured that today’s event went smoothly. It’s not easy to make sure 200 feet of sausage gets turned and cooked evenly, and keeping the meat and the grill well hydrated seemed to be very important. Everyone did their jobs, however, and the sausage looked and smelled great! Over $1,500 dollars was raised for area food banks during this event, which made it not only fun, but a great community service as well.

What a fun, quirky way to celebrate Belleville’s birthday!