Mequon is home to around 24,000 residents, who celebrate the 4th of July each year with the usual cookouts and fireworks. The Milwaukee town also hosts a parade on the Saturday prior to the fourth of July. This year town residents, who host their own parade, decided to do something a little different and made an attempt for the Guinness World Record for the world’s shortest 4Th Of July parade. Not only did they make a valiant attempt at the record, they also achieved it.
Mequon man organizes world's shortest July 4th parade
WTMJ 4 reported that Bob Walerstein was the organizer of the “massive” parade and said they had planned to go 88 yards from the start to the second mailbox on his block.
He said that is where the parade would end and the main party would begin.
City of Mequon breaks Guinness World Record for shortest Fourth of July parade: https://t.co/D6TfXQXAJP pic.twitter.com/9W3VHGtMFh
— FOX6 News (@fox6now) July 5, 2017
Explaining that the town celebrates Independence Day on the Saturday prior to July 4th, he said residents in Elmhurst Drive and its connecting streets have been holding a makeshift parade on the fourth of July for the past eight years. Normally the parade would make its way for a mile around Walerstein’s block, but this year they decided to try something different.
Guinness Book of World Records contacted about the parade
Walerstein contacted the Guinness Book of World Records in London to find out if there was anything they could do to achieve a record for the town.
They told him there are 640 world records for parades, but nothing in the way of the shortest July 4th parade held in the U.S. Walerstein told them they were now going to have one.
The world’s shortest July 4th parade started in the parking lot of the Homerstead High School and took a whole 90 seconds to complete the 88 yards covered.
Around 30 neighbors were involved, as kids on bikes, cars, a fire engine and people with their dogs headed out in the parade, met by the cheers and laughter of residents. Watch the fun parade in the video included here.
Locals joke about their world record achievement
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel quotes various locals, speaking about the world’s shortest July 4th parade.
Howard Silberman told them it was the smallest parade he has ever been in, while Cheryl Silberman joked they worked out really hard that morning, going a “couple extra miles” to finish the parade.
Milwaukee resident Emma Brylow joked that the parade was “extremely hard” and that it took plenty of will power to get there, while Daniel Jacobs Daghuer quipped that he was “pretty drained” after the experience. As for Walerstein himself, he joked he had put a lot of miles on his car during the parade and "totally killed" the resale value. But laughs aside, he did say it was a lot of fun.
According to Walerstein the Ozaukee County Circuit Court Judge, Sandy Williams, was at the event to confirm the world record attempt.
He said they should get the title from the Guinness Book of World Records within around 12 to 14 weeks. However, he did add that they will return to their normal route, traveling right around the block, for next year’s parade.
