By Craig Kartchner
Macey''s grocery store hoped to put Orem on the sculpting map with Milan, Paris and New York. But art connoisseurs won''t find works by Michelangelo or Chihuly among the bread and dairy products.
Mark Seipert works in produce instead of marble and glass. He and 6 other employees in the produce department attempted to break a record Monday in a fierce battle for the title of 'World''s Largest Banana Display.'
By piling approximately 110,000 Dole bananas 14 feet high, Seipert hopes to beat the old record of 1,056 cases held since March 1999 by H.E.B. Grocery Store in Rockport, Texas. Macey''s is using 1,152 cases.
'We dreamt big and went for the record,' Seipert said. 'We had already planned a display, and Dole reps convinced us we stood a good chance to win first prize so we went for the gold.'
The display would make King Kong drool. No framework aside from bananas supports the 4,680 pounds of fruit, stretching almost 30 feet.
Palm trees, monkeys climbing on vines and the Empire State Building, overshadow a five-foot fiberglass waterfall. The Dole banana mascot joined several employees dressed up in ape costumes who handed stuffed animals and other prizes to children.
Salt Lake native Callie Nielsen said the display was amazing.
'I''m planning my next family vacation to Macey''s instead of the Bahamas,' she said. 'There''s no need to go anywhere else, that''s how incredible the display was.'
Seipert said Macey''s has long been a common name in the produce competition department. It won 1st prize in a Sunkist Fruit Roll-up competition in 2000 and 2nd place for an Idahoan brand potato display last year. Macey''s also claimed two awards for peanut displays.
Associated Food Stores, of which Macey''s is a part, eagerly supports the store''s commitment to elaborate displays, said Associated''s Director of Produce Bill Price.
'We obviously want increased sales from the promotion,' said Seipert, 'but that''s not the point of the display.'
Regardless of 'the point,' Macey''s sold 650 cases of bananas Monday, (approximately 65,000 bananas), as compared to the normal daily average of 75 to 90 cases.
Seipert said people were continuing to come out of the woodwork for bananas Tuesday.
Judges for Dole will decide the winner by May 6 based upon overall appearance, shopability and of course, sheer size and weight, said Dole representative Marta Maitles.