By Pepper Parr
October 2, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
The weather didn’t help.
Despite pouring rain – hundreds showed up and waited for a process to be counted.
It was raining steadily as people began to enter the park – the sun did make an appearance – it could have shown itself earlier.
The grass at Spencer Smith Park was squishy and had begun to turn muddy – that didn’t prevent those hundreds from growing into 1000, then into 2000 and finally into 2334.
But it wasn’t enough.
Anissa Hilbourn, president of the Joseph Brant Hospital Foundation,
When Anissa Hilbourn, president of the Joseph Brant Hospital Foundation, came up with the idea, the record – 2165 – was held by Dell Technologies
As the hospital Foundation was doing all the prep week for the event – which was to fill the shape of a J with at least 2166 people, Queen’s University, which was celebrating its 175th anniversary decided to go for the record and put thousands of people inside the shape of a Q.
They did that at Richardson stadium in Kingston – 3373 people formed in the shape of a Q
The hospital Foundation had a much different challenge in front of them – 2166 was really do-able for Burlington – 3373 was a much different situation.
The curl of the J started in the east and worked its way westward in Spencer Smith Park.
The length of the line of people was impressive and …
… and it kept on going and going and going.
2334 people who will be wearing an orange armband – they did their best to make history. They didn’t because you were not there.
The crowd began to assemble before noon even though it was raining – not a downpour but certainly a steady falling of rain.
The challenge was to text, to tweet and to telephone and drag your friends out.
At about 12:15 the sun broke through and it looked as if it just might be possible. The Master of ceremonies kept encouraging the crowd to text everyone they knew. “Get the message out” he implored people to do. He called out to those living in the condominiums across the street from the park to “come out – the sun is shining” – but it wasn’t enough.
The end of a disappointing day but only in terms of the numbers. The people who were there didn’t see the day as a failure. The hospital they were supporting was a km or more to the west.
The Guinness World Book of Records official announced that the number of people inside the J that stretched almost the full length of Spencer Smith Park was 2334.
