Times Square Arts announced the presentation of Hot Dog: The Second Serving by Jen Catron and Paul Outlaw from July 21 through August 8 2026 in Duffy Square on Broadway between 46th and 47th streets. The 65-foot-long sculpture depicts a pink frankfurter nestled in a bun with a sweeping ribbon of mustard yet now incorporates red white and blue bunting along its sides plus a golden winged figure of Liberty duct-taped conspicuously at one end. It rests on an 18-wheeler dump truck frame equipped with hydraulic lifts that raise the work about 65 feet in the air each day at noon to release confetti.
The artists said in the announcement that as the United States marks its 250th anniversary they found themselves returning to questions that animated the original project including spectacle patriotism celebration and power. “Symbols persist. Myths persist. Their meanings shift,” they stated according to the release. “Two years after its initial appearance the sculpture returns to a country that is both familiar and changed revealing new tensions within a symbol that once seemed self-evident.”
The original 2024 iteration titled Hot Dog in the City used the quintessential American food to probe class capitalism and the enduring myths of the American Dream a Times Square Arts press release explained. That earlier work similarly showered visitors with confetti in reference to American festivities and displays of patriotism. The 2026 version arrives at a markedly different national moment that invites both celebration and reflection on the nation’s path according to the same release.
Unveiling events on July 22 2026 included a 5:30 p.m. ceremony followed by The Most American Pageant Ever a tongue-in-cheek performance hosted by Catron Outlaw and Abby Lloyd. The pageant featured a panel of judges that included Curtis Sliwa Waris Ahluwalia Lily Marotta and Jean Cooney along with performances by Spike Einbinder Kiki Ball-Change and others exploring contemporary notions of American identity. It was part of the public programming for the installation.
Catron and Outlaw have previously presented projects with the Brooklyn Museum the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit and Creative Time a fact noted in the Times Square Arts release. Their large-scale sculptures and performances often examine spectacle excess and the construction of national myth. The duo’s works are held in collections including the Brooklyn Museum and The Bunker Artspace in West Palm Beach.
The installation remains accessible around the clock for the duration of its run through August 8 2026. Daily activations at noon continue to animate the sculpture with its confetti bursts. A With Honor and Gallup survey conducted in May 2026 found that 66 percent of U.S. adults planned to mark the anniversary through gatherings with family and friends or community events.
