The World’s Largest Popcorn Ball lives in its own shed at the Sac City Museum Village in Sac City, Iowa, the seat of Sac County. Hundreds of volunteers built it in June 2016 and forklifted it to Main Street that July. It weighs about 9,370 pounds and stands more than eight feet tall, and you can look at it through the shed windows any time, for free, right along U.S. Highway 20. The ball is the exclamation point on a real popcorn story that runs through the whole county: Sac City calls itself the Popcorn Capital of the World, and neighboring Odebolt was tagged the “Popcorn Center of the World” more than a century ago. Here is how to see it, and what else is worth a stop while you are in town.
Key Takeaways
- The World’s Largest Popcorn Ball is on display at the Sac City Museum Village in Sac City, Iowa, along U.S. Highway 20.
- Built by volunteers in 2016, it weighs about 9,370 pounds and stands more than eight feet tall.
- You can view it free through the shed windows any time; the museum village itself keeps seasonal hours and opens by appointment.
- Sac City is known as the Popcorn Capital of the World, and the county’s popcorn heritage reaches into Odebolt and Schaller.
- The ball is within walking distance of the Sac County Freedom Rock and Sac City’s Main Street and Chautauqua Pavilion.
Where is the World’s Largest Popcorn Ball?
You will find it in Sac City, the county seat, on the grounds of the Sac City Museum Village near 13th and Main, right along U.S. Highway 20. It has its own small shed with windows on the sides, so you can see the whole thing even when the museum is closed. No admission to look through the glass, and the spot is rarely crowded. Pull off the highway, take a look, snap a photo, and you have stood next to a genuine world-record holder.
One honest heads-up, because we would rather tell you than have you find out at the window: this is a popcorn ball that has sat in a shed since 2016, so it has weathered. It is not a fresh snack, and it was never meant to stay one. That is half the fun of a good roadside stop, and people pull over for it every week anyway.
How big is it, and who made it?
The current ball weighs about 9,370 pounds and stands more than eight feet tall. In June 2016, hundreds of volunteers gathered at the Noble Popcorn plant in Sac City and worked popcorn, sugar, and syrup into shape around a cradle form built by Lundell Plastics, a manufacturer right there in the county. On July 1, forklifts carried the finished ball across town to its home at the Museum Village. It took a crowd and a couple of loaders to move a snack.
This was not the town’s first record, either. Sac City has built and rebuilt the World’s Largest Popcorn Ball more than once over the years, taking the title back every time some other town tried to claim it. A lot of that stubbornness traces to one person: Shirley Phillips, a longtime champion of western Iowa tourism who kept the popcorn ball going for decades. She passed away in recent years, and the ball in the shed is a good piece of what she left behind.
Why is Sac County popcorn country?
Because it genuinely is, and has been for a long time. Sac City is known as the Popcorn Capital of the World, and the crop runs deep across the county. Just west, Odebolt was called the “Popcorn Center of the World” in a county history published back in 1914. Down in Schaller, popcorn-packing companies were a major employer through the middle of the last century.
The Odebolt Community Center keeps an exhibit tying the town’s popcorn to the Cracker Jack story. It is worth being precise here: the Cracker Jack company was founded in Chicago, and the local link is that this region grew the popcorn behind the snack. Take it as heritage the county is proud of rather than a founding claim, and it is a good one. Put it all together and the giant ball stops reading as a random oddity. It is the loud, sticky punctuation on a real farm story.
What else is worth seeing while you’re there?
Plenty, and it is all close. If you make one stop in Sac City, make it the popcorn ball, then walk the Museum Village next door, a cluster of historic buildings and displays that lays out the town’s story. Sac City is one of Iowa’s designated Main Street communities, with a walkable downtown of shops and places to eat, turn-of-the-century architecture, and the historic Chautauqua Pavilion, one of the few still standing anywhere in the country.
A short walk away is the Sac County Freedom Rock, part of a statewide series of painted memorials honoring veterans. And this is barn quilt country: painted quilt blocks are mounted on barns and buildings all over the area, and you can grab a map at convenience stores around the county to make a loop of it. For the full rundown, browse the county’s sites to see and communities pages.
Plan your stop
The popcorn ball works as a five-minute highway break or as the start of a half-day in Sac City. If you want to go inside the Museum Village, check current hours first, since it runs a seasonal schedule and opens by appointment. Line your visit up with the Sac County events calendar and you can fold in a downtown event or a Main Street weekend.
FAQ
How much does the World’s Largest Popcorn Ballweigh?
The current ball weighs about 9,370 pounds and stands more than eight feet tall. Volunteers built it in June 2016, and it went on display at the Sac City Museum Village that July.
Can you eat it?
No. The recipe is real popcorn, sugar, and syrup, but the ball has been on display since 2016, so it is for looking, not eating. It is a roadside record holder, not a snack.
Is there an admission fee to see it?
You can view the popcorn ball for free through the windows of its shed any time. The Sac City Museum Village next to it keeps seasonal hours and opens by appointment, so check ahead if you want to tour the museum itself.
What else is Sac City known for?
Sac City is the seat of Sac County and a designated Main Street Iowa community, with a walkable downtown, historic architecture, the historic Chautauqua Pavilion, and the Sac County Freedom Rock. It is also a good base for the county’s barn quilt trail.
Where exactly is the popcorn ball?
It is at the Sac City Museum Village near 13th and Main in Sac City, along U.S. Highway 20, an easy stop as you pass through the county on four-lane U.S. 20.
Passing through, or making a day of it? Check the events calendar to plan your visit, or explore the rest of the county’s communities. Stop and see the ball. There is not another one like it.