By: Eric Snoek
Who wouldn’t want to laugh, break a world record, and help support an amazing organization within your community? Gilda’s LaughFest does exactly that!
LaughFest is in its sixth year of bringing enjoyment and excitement to the community of Grand Rapids. The festival runs for ten days starting with the Community Kickoff on March 10 at 5:30 pm at the Calder Plaza.
What better way to kick off such an incredible event then breaking a world record?
Gilda’s LaughFest has done an amazing job over the past six years by finding silly ridiculous records that are exciting and fun for the community to achieve together. This year they hope to redeem themselves by taking back the Guinness World record for “largest rubber chicken toss.”
“This will be our sixth attempt to set a world record. We’re hoping to take back our original world record we set tossing rubber chickens in our first year of LaughFest,” said Wendy Wigger, President of Gilda’s Club Grand Rapids and LaughFest. “We’ve broken four out of five world records for most people wearing sunglasses in the dark, wearing false mustaches, wearing animal noses at a single venue and of course, the number of rubber chickens tossed.”
Back in 2011 Gilda’s LaughFest broke the rubber chicken record with 925 rubber chickens tossed. That same year, a church in Ontario, Canada broke the record by tossing 999. LaughFest plans on providing the first 1,200 participants with rubber chickens so they can shatter the previous record.
LaughFest is designed to bring the community of Grand Rapids together for laughter and a bigger cause. There will be 200 different entertainment events throughout the city, many of them free, during the ten-day festival. There are events for all ages.
By attending LaughFest, you are not only helping yourself by adding more laughter to your life but you are always helping many community members in needs. About 15 percent of the profits go towards Gilda’s Club. Gilda’s Club helps support grieving children, adults, families and friends on any kind of cancer journey or those grieving the death due to any cause. The organization runs solely on charitable donations and currently helps more than 10,000 individuals every year.
Make sure to enjoy LaughFest in its entirety! It only comes once a year.
