25 YEARS, 42 FEET, AND ONE OF A HECK CELEBRATION
For 25 years, its been hard to miss. Standing proudly at 42 feet tall in Mundare, the World’s Largest Sausage has become one of Alberta’s most recognizable roadside attractions—and undoubtedly the most photographed kovbasa in the world.
The monument has been a head turner, a road trip stop, a wedding photo background, a family tradition, a conversation starter, and a very clear sign that you’ve made it to the Sausage Centre of the Universe. So naturally, a sausage this legendary deserved one heck of a birthday party.
FROM SMALL BEGINNINGS TO LARGE SAUSAGE
Back in 2001, Edward E. Stawnichy, the second-generation owner of the family business, helped turn one very big idea into an even bigger landmark.
Created as a tribute to Stawnichy’s Mundare Sausage and Mundare’s Ukrainian heritage, the statue stands 42 feet tall and weighs approximately 12,000 pounds.
Four years in the making, the monument was built to withstand winds of up to 160 km/h—which is good, because after 25 years of braving Alberta weather, it’s still standing tall. Over the years, the Giant Sausage has become much more than a roadside attraction. It represents the generations of families, farmers, employees, and sausage lovers who helped put Mundare on the map.
PEPPERONI FLYING AND GRILLS WORKING OVERTIME
On August 15, we celebrated the Giant Sausage’s 25th anniversary during Mundare Agri-Days.
The festivities began with the town parade, where the Stawnichy’s sausage car rolled through Mundare with candy and pepperoni sticks flying into the crowd. Definitely not your average parade snack!
Then it was time to fire up the grills. Our community BBQ kicked off around noon, and it wasn’t long before the lineup stretched down the block. Kubbie burgers and smokies were grilling nonstop as our team served familiar faces, new visitors, and plenty of hungry parade-goers.
Proceeds from the BBQ supported the Edward E. Stawnichy Charitable Foundation, which supports projects in our community.
A LANDMARK MADE OF MEMORIES
One of the best parts of the celebration was hearing your stories. Some of you remembered stopping for photos during childhood road trips. Others shared wedding pictures, family traditions, and memories collected over the Giant Sausage’s 25 years. A few fans have even taken their love for Mundare Sausage all the way to the tattoo shop!
That’s the funny thing about landmarks: we measure them in feet and pounds, but that isn’t what makes them important. What matters are the people who stop, the pictures they take, the stories they tell, and the memories they bring back years later.
For us, the World’s Largest Sausage has always represented something bigger than sausage. It represents family, Ukrainian heritage, small-town pride, and the community that has supported Stawnichy’s for generations.
That same connection between good food and community is also at the heart of our fundraising program. For decades, schools, sports teams, and community groups across Alberta have raised money by sharing Stawnichy’s favourites with their supporters. Learn more about our profitable, tried-and-tested fundraising program here: stawnichys.com/fundraising.
Thank you to the Town of Mundare, the Mundare Agri-Days organizers, our hardworking team, and everyone who came out to celebrate with us. Here’s to 25 years of the World’s Largest Sausage—and many more years of memories made in Mundare.
It’s big. It’s iconic. And It’s still standing.