(Will Mandzuk/650 CKOM)

By Halyna Mihalik, CKOM News Staff

Dundurn tricera-tops dinosaur costume world record

Jul 4, 2023 | 8:56 AM

In Saskatchewan, people wore something different than red and white to celebrate Canada Day this year.

Instead, more than a thousand wore inflatable dinosaur costumes.

On July 1, the town of Dundurn, Sask. set out to beat the Guinness World Record for the most people wearing an inflatable dinosaur costume in an area at once.

“I never thought it’d be a dinosaur that put Dundurn on the map,” said Gary Grady, the owner of Big Mur’s Tavern in the town.

The event was Grady’s idea and hosted by Big Mur’s Tavern. Grady said the idea first came to him as he was scrolling through Tik Tok and saw a video of people in an inflatable dinosaur costume.

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Struck by the video, he began researching the world record and found it was held in Portland, Oregon where 380 people showed up in inflatable dinosaur costumes.

Grady decided to try hosting a similar event in Saskatchewan.

“I said to my wife that I think we can break that record and I think we should try it in Dundurn,” Grady said.

He began advertising the event on Facebook over the winter. Grady said the event had an overwhelmingly positive reaction, with more than 1000 people signing up online.

People travelled from other provinces, including Alberta and Manitoba, to be a part of the record-breaking day.

“In a dinosaur suit, everybody’s the same,” said film director and writer Karla Weber.

“Your age, your weight, your colour, none of that matters; everybody’s the same. And I feel like that’s a huge part of Saskatchewan — we’re just welcoming and inclusive.”

Weber is a part of Purple Hen Productions. The film company was on site for the July 1 event, filming for a mockumentary.

Called Fossil Record, the film follows the migration patterns of dinosaurs and how they ended up in Dundurn.

“I’m just super excited to be part of it,” said Weber. “But I’m really excited that we can make a moment in time, encapsulate it and have it forever.”

The mockumentary is set to be completed by the end of summer.

Although no one from the Guinness World Record team could make it to Dundurn, the town has officially broken the record.

The official count was held at 5 p.m. and confirmed that a record breaking 1163 people showed up in full dinosaur gear, exceeding the previously set in Portland.

—With files from 650 CKOM’s Will Mandzuk