Sausage-loving philanthropists square off to take on 20-foot bratwursts for a good cause on March 20 at Ypsi’s Wurst Bar

Remember how, a few days ago, I told you that I was working on a top-secret, meat-related project? Well, I can now share the details…

WurstChallenge_web

Here’s the press release:

March 3, 2014

WURST CHALLENGE announced for March 20 in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Sausage-loving philanthropists square off to take on 20-foot bratwursts for a good cause.

FLY Children’s Art Center, in corporation with the Wurst Bar, New Holland Brewing Company, VG Kids and Mark Maynard.com, will host the first annual Wurst Challenge on March 20, 2014. The event, a fundraiser for FLY’s Creativity Lab in downtown Ypsilanti, will pit sausage-loving philanthropists (including local luminaries such as Ypsilanti’s Mayor Paul Schreiber, artist Cre Fuller, and Ann Arbor Derby Dimes Melissa Wingett and Megan Miramontes) against an imposing 20 feet of freshly made bratwurst.

Each challenger will be seeking community financial support through the FLY Children’s Art Center website, with proceeds going toward the expansion of FLY’s ongoing creativity education initiatives in downtown Ypsilanti.

“FLY packs quality creative experiences into children’s minds the same way that we pack quality meats into an all natural casing. With so much in common, it was just a matter of time before we started working together.” Said Jesse Kranyak, the owner of Ypsilanti’s Wurst Bar, who will be serving up the two-story tall bratwursts.

On March 20, starting at 7:30 PM, each challenger will be served a 20 foot long bratwurst, which he or she will attempt to consume in its entirety. The Wurst Bar has generously offered to donate “10 cents an inch” to FLY for all sausage consumed by the panel of challengers. In addition, challengers will use social media to raise funds from friends and supporters. (Doors will open at 6:30 PM.)

Prizes will be awarded to the challenger who raises the most money, the one who consumes the most bratwurst, and the “audience favorite”—the individual to attack his or her brat with the greatest sense of style.

(The Wurst Bar will provide tofu apple bratwursts for non-carnivores.)

“We’re thrilled to collaborate on this event with some amazing businesses,” said Morgan Cox, a board member of FLY. “The funds raised will go to our new Creativity Lab, which we hope to develop into a destination in Ypsilanti and beyond. We’ve already started, and we hope to continue offering innovative, one-of-a-kind camps and workshops where youth can discover, play, invent—and develop self-confidence.”

Ypsilanti Mayor Paul Schreiber, one of the challengers who will be facing off against 20 feet of meat during the event, had the following to say about FLY: “FLY has been a positive force in our schools and I look forward to seeing what will happen in their downtown Creativity Lab. It’s a great thing to see local businesses collaborating in support of our non-profits. And it’ll be a pleasure to participate in this event!”

Those not directly participating in the Wurst Challenge, are encouraged to attend to cheer on their favorite participants, and enjoy what promises to be an awesome event for sausage eaters and non-sausage eaters alike. “Not since the moon launch has such an ambitious thing been attempted by mankind,” says event coordinator Mark Maynard. “We’re literally talking about 20 feet of meat. The Wurst Bar had to reconfigure their kitchen for this. No one thought that it could be done, but we’re going to prove them wrong. And, in addition to everything else, New Holland Brewing will be taking over all six of the Wurst Bar’s taps. Not only will they be donating every dollar spent on their Monkey King Saison Farmhouse Ale during the evening, but they’ll be tapping their much-anticipated Dragon’s Milk Reserve Bourbon Barrel Stout for the first time ever.”

Cre Fuller, one of the first to accept the challenge, had the following to say when asked why he’d signed on. “I’m overjoyed at the prospect of eating large amounts of delicious sausage from the Wurst Bar for a good cause. As an artist, Fly Children’s Art Center means a lot to me. And, I can think of no better way to support it, as I love eating sausage almost as much as I love art education,” he said.

For information on how to sign up for the Wurst Challenge, or to contribute on behalf of an existing participant, visit the FLY website.

ABOUT FLY:
FLY Children’s Art Center believes that the ability to solve problems with creativity fuels a healthy community and enables kids to build bright futures. Since 2009, FLY has provided hundreds of kids with powerful, hands-on, creative experiences in free after-school workshops across Washtenaw and Wayne counties. The FLY Creativity Lab, (40 N. Huron Street in downtown Ypsilanti) launched in 2013, brings interdisciplinary workshops, camps and events to area youth.

Now, please start donating!

This entry was posted in Art and Culture, Local Business, Special Projects, Ypsilanti and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink. Post a comment or leave a trackback: Trackback URL.

4 Comments

  1. Kristin
    Posted March 3, 2014 at 1:00 pm | Permalink

    I am super excited about the veggie brats. Challenge!

  2. anoymous
    Posted March 3, 2014 at 1:14 pm | Permalink

    Will they be served like this?

    http://i.walmartimages.com/i/p/00/04/43/65/00/0004436500832_500X500.jpg

  3. XXX
    Posted March 3, 2014 at 3:31 pm | Permalink

    When you reference the moon landing, are you suggesting that the eating of these brats might actually be Hollywood fakery?

  4. Mr. Y
    Posted March 4, 2014 at 11:59 am | Permalink

    This as I understand it is a challenge and not a competition. If it were a competition though, here’s how I’d do it. It would be like tug a war, with one person at each end of a 20 foot long sausage, each chewing toward the middle. The first one to arrive wins.

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