Ottawa Reclaims a Guinness World Record

All photos courtesy of Sofie Sharom

What’s more Canadian than building a snowman?

_DSC0808-1Answer: building 2069 of them in less than an hour! This past Sunday over 1500 eager Ottawa area residents came out to help the city proudly reclaim the Guinness World Record for the most snowman made in an hour.

Snowball rollers of all ages came out on a mild Sunday afternoon, equipped with sticks, carrots, buttons and a variety of snowmen outfits, ready to beat the previous record of 2036 snowman, held by Japan. With milder temperatures creating the ideal packing snow, Ottawa successfully reclaimed its World Record by rolling up a total of 2069 snowmen! As part of the Winterlude festival, this very Canadian event was organized by Ottawa’s Cracking-Up the Capital Comedy Festival, with the aim to raise money and awareness for mental health.

 

 

_DSC0603-1
Winterlude mascots Mama and Papa Ice Hog and their children, Noumi and Nouma greet the crowd at TD Place Stadium before the start of the event.

_DSC0745-1
Over 1500 people came out to help Ottawa reclaim the Guinness World Record for most snowmen built in an hour, making a total of 2069 snowmen!

Mild temperatures created the ideal conditions for packing snow.
Mild temperatures created the ideal conditions for packing snow.

_DSC0723-1
To qualify for the Guinness World Record each snowman had to be a minimum of 3ft tall.

A mother and daughter add some Cheerio eyes to their snowman. Part of the Guinness criteria was also that each snowman had to have two eyes, two arms and a nose.
A mother and daughter add some Cheerio eyes to their snowman. Part of the Guinness criteria was also that each snowman had to have two eyes, two arms and a nose.

_DSC0751-1

Some stylish and well-dressed snowmen were to be seen all throughout TD Place Stadium!
Some stylish and well-dressed snowmen were to be seen all throughout TD Place Stadium!