607 Animal nose-wearing people to set a new Guinness World Record

A total of 607 animal nose-wearing people was recorded at the Gilda’s LaughFest held at the Grand Rapids in Michigan on Thursday, March 8, 2012. On the evening of Thursday, 607 people packed a downtown city in block and wore chicken, braving the 30-degree temperature, and clucking their way to the record for the most animal nose-wearing people at a single venue.

Guinness only mandated at least 10 minutes for the event to become a world record. The record hasn’t been verified yet but since there is no current world record set in the animal nose-wearing category, assuming the paperwork was checked out, then the 607 people who moved to the Chicken Dance set a record. “What an event. It really brought the community together. It was incredible,” Sharon Irwin, a 54-year-old legal secretary from Kentwood said describing the animal nose-wearing event as “The Coop”

The event served as the official kickoff to the annual Gilda’s LaughFest. It will run through March 18 and is sponsored by the nonprofit Gilda’s Club Grand Rapids which honors the memory of comedian Gilda Radner who died in 1989. This year’s headliners include comedians Whoopi Goldberg, Martin Short and Kevin Nealon.

Gilda’s LaughFest has only been around for only two years. It began last year with an attendance of more than 55,000 people from 25 states and Canada. All proceeds from the festival benefit the cancer, grief and other support programs that are offered through Gilda’s Club Grand Rapids.