DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- A motorcade with two sheriff's cars and a fire truck were part of the ceremony that helped unveil a giant Cheeto as a tourist attraction in northwest Iowa. The event culminated with the Cheeto's first live television appearance.
Bryce Wilson, 24, a disc jockey at KLGA-FM in Algona, arranged for the huge piece of snack food to be mailed from Hawaii and then set up a major event to unveil the Cheeto at a local restaurant.
The whole thing began as a way to have fun and make people laugh, Wilson said, adding that it really took off when ABC-TV's Jimmy Kimmel requested the unveiling be part of his live late-night talk show.
``It's just crazy, but I'm lovin' every minute of it,'' Wilson said. ``We've had a lot of fun with this thing.''
With a crowd of 200 chanting, ``Cheeto, Cheeto,'' the cheesy lump made its debut.
``That is an amazingly large Cheeto,'' Kimmel said as his studio audience in Hollywood cheered.
The Cheeto appeared slightly smaller than a tennis ball and dwarfed a regular size piece of the snack food. It weighs only six-tenths of an ounce but has quite a girth, Wilson has said.
The Cheeto will be on permanent display in a glass case at Sister Sarah's Restaurant in Algona.
Frito-Lay, the Texas-based maker of Cheetos, donated items to be auctioned at the event. About $1,600 was raised for the Kossuth County food bank.
``That Cheeto keeps on giving and giving,'' Kimmel said when Wilson informed him of the charity amount.
Wilson said he first learned about the big Cheeto on a Web site while trying to find silly stories for his afternoon show.
Navy Petty Officer Mike Evans, stationed in Hawaii, bought a bag of Cheetos for his 3-year-old son and discovered the massive hunk of the cheesy food inside.
Evans tried to auction the Cheeto on e-Bay, but Wilson convinced him to give it to Algona, a town of 5,700 residents, as a tourist draw.
