I blame myself. I didn't express to you the sense of urgency needed to get more folks out to Calder Plaza Thursday night to reclaim the Guinness Book of World Records title for the most rubber chicken thrown at one time.

Somewhere in Canada, a church group breathed a sigh of relief. 

There was dancing, food, rubber chickens in frivolity last night at Calder Plaza, but there wasn't a world record set. Hundreds gathered in downtown Grand Rapids to launch Gilda’s LaughFest, the nation’s only community-wide festival of laughter, by attempting to take back the Guinness World Record for the largest number of rubber chickens tossed.

Mascots from the Grifffs and the Caps wrestle with a chicken. (Jojo Girard/Townsquare Media)
Mascots from the Grifffs and the Caps wrestle with a chicken. (Jojo Girard/Townsquare Media)
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LaughFest enthusiasts started lining up at 5:30 p.m. After some instructions and a little practice, the official attempt to take back the world record took place. Officials set the number of rubber chickens tossed at 738, which came up short of the current Guinness World Record for the largest number of rubber chickens tossed, which was achieved back in June 2011 by Glad Tidings Pentecostal Church in Burlington, Ontario, Canada, who tossed 999 rubber chickens.

The LaughFest dancers! (jojo Girard/Townsquare Media)
The LaughFest dancers! (jojo Girard/Townsquare Media)
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“It was a great way to kick off the 2016 festival and we would like to thank all of the participants who came out and tossed a rubber chicken with us,” said Wendy Wigger, President of Gilda’s Club Grand Rapids and LaughFest. “This has traditionally been the way we kicked off each year of the festival and we always have serious fun. We’re proud of the four World Records we previously set.”

LaughFest has broken four other world records. In 2014, 1,675 participants set the record for most people wearing sunglasses in the dark. In 2013, 1,532 individuals wore fake mustaches at a single venue. In 2012, 607 people wore animal noses (specifically chicken beaks) at a single venue. In 2011, 925 participants tossed rubber chickens.

LaughFest 2016 includes more than 200 free and ticketed shows featuring over 100 artists at more than 40 venues in Grand Rapids, Holland, and Lowell during the 10 days of the festival. Artists include headliners: Seth Meyers, performing during Gilda’s Club Grand Rapids Signature Event, Kathy Griffin, Ron Funches, Anjelah Johnson, Roy Wood Jr., Chris D’Elia, Bert Kreischer, and Heather McDonald.

Jojo Girard/Townsquare Media
Jojo Girard/Townsquare Media
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What we were tossing. (Jojo Girard/Townsquare Media)
What we were tossing. (Jojo Girard/Townsquare Media)
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