Tuesday, November 14, 2017

  Most people carving pumpkins simultaneously: world record set in Marine City (VIDEO)

   MARINE CITY, MI, USA -- A total of 1,064 residents of Marine City (including a few hundred folks who showed up at the last minute — many of them from the Grosse Pointes) set the World Record for the most people simultaneously carving pumpkins, according to the World Record Academy .

Photo: Citizens from across metro Detroit gathered in Nautical Mile Park on Water Street for a Pumpkin Palooza Party hosted by the Mariner Theatre, the Marine City Area Chamber of Commerce and Vandenbossche Farms.The group carved 1,064 pumpkins, topping the previous record by four. Photo: Dave Angell ( enlarge photo )

    "We had so many walk-up people, it was insane," Erika DeLange, executive director of the Marine City Area Chamber of Commerce, said for the Detroit Free press. "We had 1,064 people, and the Guinness world record was 1,060.

    "This is definitely drawing attention to our little town. We had people coming in from Oakland County, Wayne County, Macomb County. We had people from Canada. We even had a couple of people from Ohio. So we definitely got people from all over. And they're talking about Marine City and all the great things that we're doing."

   Last year, the town set an unofficial world record for the longest string of popcorn, which it stretched across the St. Clair River from Marine City to Sombra, Ontario.

    This year, 1,064 people carved pumpkins, which were then lit and turned into a show that people could stroll through for donations toward the city's renaissance and rebuilding, including turning the old City Hall into a youth recreation center.

   To beat the record, participants were required to carve their pumpkins for five minutes without stopping and then complete the pumpkin with two eyes, a nose and mouth, The Voice reports.

   Each participant received a pumpkin, a five-piece carving kit and an LED light after paying $7 to take part in the record-setting attempt. All of the pumpkins, which were provided by Vandenbossche Farms in China Township, were lit for visitors to enjoy while strolling through the park.