23 Food-Related “World’s Largest” Structures

When I was a kid, I remember passing through the town of Vegreville, Alberta on a family trip and seeing the giant “Pysanka” that is the town’s claim to fame. I found this enormous replica of the highly decorated eggs that are a Ukrainian Easter tradition impressive not only for its size, but also for its wonderful oddness. I thought then that it was a strange idea to create a 31-foot-tall (9.5 meter) Easter egg, but I’ve since learned that the Pysanka was designed as a tribute not only to the province’s large population of Ukrainian immigrants, but also to the centennial of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in 1974. I was further interested to know that new computer programs had to be developed to map out its intricate pattern, and that this represented the first time an egg had been modeled using computers.

This charming combination of local pride, engineering know-how, and a sense of fun are elements of many other “World’s Largest” attractions throughout the world. Here is a selected list of other enormous food-related structures.

Fruit & Nuts

• Banana (Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, Australia)
• Lemon (Lemon Grove, California)
• Olive (Lindsay, California)
• Peach (Gaffney, South Carolina)
• Peanut (Ashburn, Georgia)
• Pecan (Brunswick, Missouri)
• Pineapple (Nambour, Queensland, Australia)
• Strawberry (Strawberry Point, Iowa)
• Tomato (Leamington, Ontario)
• Watermelon (Luling, Texas)

Vegetables

• Artichoke (Castroville, California)
• Ear of Corn (Rochester, Minnesota)
• Potato (Maugerville, New Brunswick)
• Pumpkin (Circleville, Ohio)

Processed Foods

• Catsup Bottle (Collinsville, Illinois)
• Can of Chili (Beloit, Wisconsin)
• Can of Coca-Cola (Portage La Prairie, Manitoba)
• Can of Fruit Cocktail (Sunnyvale, California)
• Box of Raisins (Kingsburg, California)
• Container of Yoghurt (Dubai, United Arab Emirates)

Eastern European Foods

• Kielbassa (Mundare, Alberta) Polish Sausage
• Pyrogy (Glendon, Alberta) Ukrainian Dumplings
• Pysanka (Vegreville, Alberta) Ukrainian Easter Egg (A symbolic item, not meant to be eaten)