Gilda’s LaughFest Officially Sets a World Record

It's official!  Guinness World Records has certified that Gilda’s LaughFest, the nation’s only community-wide festival of laughter, broke the previous record for the most people wearing sunglasses in the dark. With 1,675 participants, Gilda’s LaughFest now officially holds the record.

It was on March 6, 2014, LaughFest fans lined up near Rosa Parks Circle in downtown Grand Rapids to kick off the 2014 festival by attempting to set a new world record. LaughFest officials set the number of people wearing sunglasses in the dark record at 1,675 for five minutes. The previous Guinness World Record for the largest gathering of people wearing sunglasses in the dark was in July 2012 by 1,642 folks at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Ill.  The question was, could WE do it?  You bet we could!

In fact, LaughFest has broken three other Guinness World Records. In 2013, 1,532 people joined LaughFest and wore false mustaches to set the Guinness World Record for the largest number of people wearing fake mustaches at a single venue. In 2012, 607 of us set the Guinness World Record for the greatest number of people wearing animal noses (specifically chicken beaks!) at a single venue. In 2011, 925 rubber chickens were tossed in downtown Grand Rapids, shattering the previous record of 265 set near Boston, Mass.

Gilda’s LaughFest was created by a team at Gilda’s Club Grand Rapids in 2011. Since inception, LaughFest has averaged 55,000 attendees per year, and proceeds from the festival go to support the free cancer, grief, and emotional health programs offered through Gilda’s Club Grand Rapids. Visit www.laughfestgr.org, or call 616-735-HAHA (4242) to learn more about Gilda’s LaughFest.