Philadelphians eat world's largest hoagie

The world's largest hoagie -- measuring 1,500 feet long and encircling all of City Hall -- was dished out free of charge to thousands of Philadelphians last Thursday. After a two-hour-long wait in the pouring rain, the hungry crowd got a chance to sink its teeth into a piece of the gargantuan sandwich -- which was slathered in mayonnaise and oil by volunteer WaWa employees who travelled from locations as far as New Haven, Conn., to toil away at the event. "Hoagie Day" was part of the six-day "Welcome America!" celebration of Independence Day sponsored by the city. Fireworks displays, concerts and children's activities were some of the other events held last week. But Hoagie Day was by far the favorite event of some city residents with grumbling stomachs and a taste for Philadelphia's most famous cuisine -- many of whom went to great extremes just to get a bite of the history-making hoagie. The first person in line for a piece of the hoagie, Connie Brewster, said she stood in cloudy and eventually stormy weather for almost three hours just to be the first person to eat the record-breaking sub. "I enjoy being out here with the food and the people," said Brewster, about an hour before the hoagie was served. "It's wonderful -- but it's going to take a while." Eleven year-old Mayesha Willis walked all the way to City Hall from North Philadelphia with her mother, Charlotte, just to eat a ham and cheese section of the hoagie. "I want a ham and cheese but I'll take any kind I can get," said Willis, who added that she thinks Hoagie Day is "fun [and] it's a lot different." Dozens of people in the area flocked from a SEPTA bus stop near City Hall to join the party. "Look at that," said one person in line for the hoagie. "They missed their bus and everything just to get a little slice of it." William Wilson, who works at the University's "Upward Bound" program, said he left work early in order to claim his piece of the famous sandwich. "I truthfully wanted to be part of it," he said. "I truthfully wanted to eat it." But free food was not the event's only attraction. Rock 'n roll star Chubby Checker performed at Hoagie Day, drawing even non-hoagie lovers to the event. Barbie Young, who works in center city, said that while she was "very excited" about watching Checker perform, she was most impressed by the fact that the concert -- as well as the hoagies and WaWa T-shirts and baseball caps -- was absolutely free. "I like getting something for free," she said. "You don't get much for free in this world."