Organizers of Blenheim Cherry Fest will have to wait a little longer to see if they spit their way into the record books.
On Saturday morning, Cherry Fest officials attempted to go for the Guinness World Record for most people simultaneously spitting cherry pits. Currently, no one officially holds the record for the feat. However, Organizer JP Huggins said that officials from Guinness suggested they'll need around 250 people to get the record title.
According to Huggins, about 170 people showed up to take part in the pit spit but there is still a possibility that they can officially get the record.
"We haven't got all the exact numbers yet but we were about 170 people," said Huggins. "I still have to send all that stuff into Guinness then they process that over the next five to six weeks then they'll get back to us and say 'yup, 170 people we'll let you guys have the record for that' or they'll say 'nope you're going to have to try again next year,' which we will."
Mayor Darrin Canniff and councilors Trevor Thompson, Anthony Ceccacci and Mary Clare Latimer were some of the dozens on hand for the record attempt. Although they didn't hit the target of 250 people, Huggins said overall, Cherry Fest 2019 had a phenomenal turnout.
"I was hoping for the 250, we've had a lot of heat warnings out and stuff like that. I think that scared a few people away from Cherry Fest a little bit this year although numbers seem to be great," he said. "We had great numbers, a great turn out, all in all, a great Cherry Fest this year."
Another highlight of the three-day event was the pie-eating contest on Friday night. Huggins said the contest is always a fan favorite.
"We had probably 200 people watching the pie-eating contest," he said. "That was right when it, it didn't really storm here, but it did rain for about 20 minutes or so. We did the pie-eating contest in the rain. Rain doesn't deter people whatsoever from Cherry Fest"
As they wait to see the official results of the world record attempt, Huggins said that no matter what the result is, they'll be back next year.
"Even if we get it this year, we'll try to break it next year," he said.
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