Everyone has a chance to be a record holder at the Pelhřimov Festival of Curiosities
The most travelled flock of hens, the longest limousine car, or a two-meter-high knitted snowman are just some of the attractions visitors can look forward to seeing at the 29th Pelhřimov Curiosity Festival, which takes place this Friday and Saturday. The festival has been going strong for nearly 30 years and attracts people from across the country, as well as the wider continent.
Eight hours and 12,000 somersaults later, they decided to found the Good Day Agency, which has been organising an annual Festival of Curiosities ever since.
Vláďa Donát is one of those closely involved in organising many of the record attempts which the festival features.
A few years back, he told to Radio Prague what it is all about.
“Every year, during the second weekend in June, Pelhřimov holds the Town of Records Festival and thousands of visitors come to see dozens of Czech and world record attempts in a vast number of areas – these are sportspeople, stunts, different curiosities and interesting things and everyone who comes enjoys a great atmosphere with concerts, dance shows, lots of good food and it is also possible that if you do come you may become part of a record which visitors are part of every year.”
“It’s actually a great book, very diverse, lots of pictures – almost 2,000 pictures – and the reason that it is so interesting is that it includes not only the individual records set in Pelhřimov but it is also a kind of introduction to the Czech Republic.”
This year the endeavours will include a sketch artist trying to draw the most portraits of twins with both hands, as well as an attempt at the most plates spun at the same time.
The festival organisers say that they do not just want to restrict the action to the podium and have therefore called for visitors to take part in the record of the most people photographed in the ruins of Krakovec castle. A voluntary admission fee will be charged with the raised money going to a local charity.
Among them are 51-year-old Richard Štěpánek, the only one handed cyclist to ever complete the challenging 1000 Miles Adventure race, or the two time Olympic gold winning slalom canoeist Štěpánka Hilgertová.
Along with the legendary ice-hockey player Jaromír Jágr, they are to be inaugurated into the Record Holder’s Hall of Fame at the town Museum of Records and Curiosities, the only museum of its kind in Central Europe.
