Over 1,100 people wore inflatable dinosaur costumes in a Saskatchewan town on Canada Day to shatter a Guinness World Record..The town of Dundurn has 670 people, yet 1,187 people gathered on Canada Day to put on dinosaur costumes. Dundurn Dino Day, organized by Big Murs Tavern, tripled the former record of 380 set in Portland, Oregon in 2022..Streets were blocked off from vehicles while attendees rode in from the outskirts of town on a shuttle bus. Busses from Regina and Saskatoon brought others, though some present were from as far away as Whitehorse and Wales. Purple Hen Productions made a mockumentary of the dinosaurs’ migration patterns to their mating grounds in the town..On the tavern’s Facebook group page, a video of Sherry Richards accompanied the following ode to the special day..“Finally, finally, a day just to be a Canadian. After three hard years of division, segregation, labelling, discrimination and people fighting to be heard and recognized, a day came when none of that mattered. Finally, a day that was about everyone’s right to just feel joy. I think the dinosaur turnout in Dundurn, Saskatchewan, was just about that joy. The event allowed every single person to be the same, and there’s such freedom in that. There was no discrimination about ethnicity or sexual orientation, no religion or politics or vaccine status, nothing to divide us, but one beautiful thing to unite us … a dinosaur costume..“Nobody knew who was in the suit and nobody cared. We just cared that we were there in that moment. All that mattered was to be silly and dance, to be together in a common goal, and to just allow ourselves to have fun. As we all sweated and gyrated and growled together, all we knew for sure was that under that suit was a smile and a Canadian.”.“Happy Canada Day to each and every person that attended, it has been a long time since I’ve witnessed that kind of togetherness. The joy that filled my heart was like a healing balm, the kind we all need now and again. My deepest gratitude to each and every one of you.”.Participants and observers took to social media to express how much they enjoyed the event, despite how hot the costume got..Kari-Lynn Bezooyen said, “This was truly amazing to be a part of” and “a really great idea” although she was “all soggy and sweaty inside my costume.”.Sandra Froess of Humboldt, Sask, wrote, “I roasted like a pig in a blanket in my dino suit, but yet somehow seemed to enjoy absolutely every minute of it. You simply cannot be thanked enough for hosting this event!”.In the lead-up to the event, tavern owner and organizer Gary Grady told CTV, there’s no way not to smile when you see people in a dinosaur costumes..“I follow a few of the videos on Instagram and on YouTube of the different things that people do with these dinosaur inflatables, and you know they're mowing their lawns or they're running down the street or wrestling or fighting with each other. It's just every time you see these dinosaurs in costume, you laugh,” Grady said..“When I grew up as a kid, my parents always bought me the Guinness Book of World Records for Christmas and I always wanted to somehow be part of it.”.Organizers gave participants a free burger and drink and brought live music to allow the faux dinosaurs to dance. They were enthusiastic about the event and are pondering a sequel in 2024.
