Whether you like them long and plump or short and sweet, weiners of all creeds will be coming to Cooperstown this summer. Event organizers anticipate pleasing all tastes.

The recently organized local chapter of Slow Food is kicking things into gear by celebrating what many consider to be the closest thing to a national American dish: hot dogs.

There isn't a better place to hail the marriage of baseball, hot dogs and beer than the home of the national shrine to the great American pastime. The Brewery Ommegang will brew a special ballpark beer for the event, to be held at The Farmers' Museum.

All of the major league ballparks will be invited to showcase their house specialty franks. While there are only a few major distributors who provide the organizations with their hot dogs, they are prepared differently in various stadiums.

And in some places, like at Jacobs Field, where the Cleveland Indians play, the condiments are famous. Bertman's Ball Park mustard, a custom blend, kept people coming to the park even when the Indians weren't so hot.

At a recent meeting of Slow Food, a documentary produced by Rich Sebak, "The Hot Dog Program," was shown. According to the film, the origin of the hot dog as we know it today is debated among those who care to question such things. Some say it was first introduced in 1893, while others insist it was at the St. Louis expedition in in 1904.

Wendy Littlefield, co-owner of The Brewery Ommegang, is organizing the event with the excitement and flair that marks all of the festivities she has organized locally, like last summer's Asian Barbecue at the Farmers' Museum. Also the founder of the local Slow Food chapter, she faces a tough question: How do hot dogs qualify as slow food?

"Part of what the Slow Food movement is about is preserving regional specialties. Hot dogs are prepared differently in different places and this event will have a regional component," Littlefield said. Plus, the idea to host the event came from Patrick Martens, president of Slow Food USA. From coast to coast and in between, the hot dog is a reflection of the culture that loves it.

The Slow Food movement began in response to a fast food restaurant setting up shop in Italy. Founder Carlo Petrini has said that the movement is about governing the rhythms of one's own life. Littlefield emphasizes this part of the organization's mission.

"It used to be that families would sit around the kitchen table for meals and talk. That aspect of life can be enjoyed by everyone, and is missing in our culture today. That's what this is about," she said.

And when you get right down to it, going to a ballpark and spending the afternoon watching a game and eating hot dogs is still a method by which families can find unity in today's busy world, even if a hot dog isn't exactly slow roasted. And while hot dogs are simple and fast, the ways in which they're eaten have such regional variety that weiners have become a cultural specialty.

In Chicago, they take their dogs boiled, on a steamed bun, with tomato, celery salt, relish, pickles, lettuce and hot peppers. Sauerkraut seems to appeal strictly to New Yorkers. Southern weiners are slathered in slaw.

No story about hot dogs would be complete without at least a mention of Nathan's Famous, host of the annual Fourth of July hot dog eating contest. Last year's winner, a Japanese mattress salesman and three-time champion, put down nineteen weiners in twelve minutes during a gruesome display of bun-squeezing and ceaseless swallowing. The documentary on which the footage appears will be played on continuous loop throughout the day during the Slow Food event.

Perhaps the most memorable of the places covered on the film is "Rutt's Hut," where diners choose from three deep fried variations: in-and-outers, rippers and cremators. Following dinner, people go out to the parking lot and make out.

One plump couple looks like they've been eating hot dogs for as long as they've been together.

"This is where he introduced me to weiners," said the wife from the passenger seat of their car.

Jeff Idelson, Vice-President of Communications and Education at the Baseball Hall of Fame, will be conducting some research about the relationship between hot dogs and baseball for the event.

"It's a piece of Americana," said Idelson.

At a recent Slow Food meeting, where hot dogs were sampled and discussed, Gilbert T. Vincent, president of NYSHA, said that the Hall of Fame was hoping to have a hall of famer each week during the summer signing autographs, which may mean that the same player could be a draw at the Slow Food event. But with or without this addition, the event promises to stand out as a memorable kick-off for the local chapter of Slow Food.

Food critics and kids will judge the dogs and there will be lectures and games throughout the day.