“Sauerkraut or plain?”

That was the question that many people were asked on Saturday at the Elberta Sausage Festival. They had to decide whether they wanted their sausage covered in sauerkraut or without the extra ingredient. It was the toughest decision of the day for most festival goers, which could make for a pretty good spring Saturday.

The 33rd annual sausage festival — which has been the main fundraising source for the Elberta Volunteer Fire Department since 1978 — attracted around 40,000 people to the downtown Elberta park, Volunteer Fire Chief Steve Kirkpatrick said, and the event raised more than $28,600.

“We got a lot of support from the community and we’re tickled to death,” Kirkpatrick said. “We’re selling sausage as fast as we can make them. I talked to the booth vendors and they all are having a great day.”

The event included the unique Elberta sausages, vendors, local non-profit organizations selling food and drinks, a beer tent and music entertainment. The sausage is what most people come for, and the rest is just lagniappe.

“I’ve had two (sausages) this morning,” Kirkpatrick said. “They were delicious. They’re cooked just right.”

“As far as I’m concerned, this is the best sausage in the world,” Aaron Sago, of Gulf Breeze, Fla, said.

“My wife likes the shopping, but I like the sausages,” Jerry Collier, of Foley, said. “We come twice a year, every year.”

The festival happens twice-yearly, once in the spring and once in October. Some residents come from nearby Baldwin County towns or cities, but others come from all over the country.

“We’ve been here for the last 10 years,” John Partlow, of Michigan, said.

“We love the sausage,” June Bailey, of Stockton, said.

“This is the first year coming in many years,” her husband, Ben Bailey, said. “When we first started coming, it was a much smaller event.”