Record broken, but show goes on
Stouffville pub awaiting confirmation that its concert is officially the longest ever
And the beat goes on.
Stouffville’s Earl of Whitchurch pub was the venue for what is now — unofficially — a Guinness world record for the longest concert by multiple artists.
Since St. Patrick’s Day, more than 400 acts have taken the stage for the concert, organized by Kevin Ker and the Epidemic Music Group. They passed the goal at 7:10 a.m. on Sunday.
“I’m exhausted, stressed and absolutely elated that we managed to pull it off,” said George Bigelow, owner of the Earl of Whitchurch.
“I’d be lying if I didn’t tell you that it was still a whole lot of fun along the way.” Bigelow said for the moment they’ve got all the records they were going for: longest live-streamed concert and longest concert by multiple artists.
The Earl of Whitchurch broke the record held by Ri Ra Irish Pub, a 24-hour-a-day Mandalay Bay casino complex in Las Vegas.
That his pub now holds the world record, in Canada’s 150th birthday year, speaks to what small-town Canadian spirit can accomplish, Bigelow said.
At first Bigelow and Ker wanted to hold an open mic night, and then wondered if there was a Guinness world record for the longest one. They wrote to officials, who replied saying the record was about 15-and- a-half days.
“We decided what the heck,” Bigelow said.
Along the way, people from the town and volunteers helped with cups of coffee, platters of food and cheering, sometimes in their pyjamas.
The pub plans a big finale Tuesday at midnight, officially ending the concert.
So far, they’ve managed to raise about $90,000 that has been given away to various charities.
The next aim for the owner, organizers and volunteers is to catch up on much-needed sleep.
“A lot of people are running on fumes,” Bigelow said. “We’ve had about four hours of sleep a night.”
The pub gets back to business as usual starting Thursday night.
“Or as usual a business as it will be after this,” Bigelow said.