Connellsville Sets a World Record, 645 Tubes Long
Connellsville set a Guinness World Record August 1 when 645 people linked swim tubes on the Yough at the first Tube da Ville festival, topping the old mark of 620.
Connellsville has a Guinness World Record to its name, and it took 645 people in swim tubes to get it.
On Saturday, August 1, at the first Tube da Ville festival on the Youghiogheny River, 645 people linked their tubes together and held on for at least 30 seconds at Yough River Park. That was enough to break the old record of 620, set in Portland, Oregon, back in 2013.
The whole thing was the idea of Kevin Leonard and Jason Bandemer, co-owners of Connellsville’s Trippy Hippie Brewing. It took them more than a year to pull off, and it happened to land on Leonard’s 40th birthday. Not a bad way to spend one.
Getting 645 people to connect in a single line is harder than it sounds. Organizers used what they called a snake line, sending groups of about 150 out one at a time along a guide rope, then joining them all together for the count. A Guinness adjudicator, Sarah Casson, was on hand to make it official, with volunteers stationed down the line watching for any break.
Around the record attempt was a full day of festival: food trucks, vendors, community groups and live music on two stages. The crowd spilled across Yough River Park, with people coming in from out of state and from all over Pennsylvania. One local told reporters he had never seen so many people in Connellsville in his life.
Connellsville sits right on the Great Allegheny Passage, a straight shot down the Yough from us, and days like this are good for the whole region. A tourism grant helped cover the cost of bringing in Guinness to make the record official.
Organizers are already talking about doing it again next year. If they do, Connellsville will have a record to defend, and the rest of us will have a good excuse to get back on the river.