GRANTON GRADUATE ORGANIZING WORLD'S LARGEST PILLOW FIGHT
Friday, April 14th, 2006 -- 2:00 PM
A Granton High School graduate is organizing what he hopes will be the ?World?s Largest Pillow Fight?. Autumn Blakey (BLAY-kee) now lives in La Crosse.
He says the idea came to him last year after reading about UW-Oshkosh?s failed attempt to break the record ? 3,642 fighters ? held by Albany, New York.
?UW-Oshkosh tried to break the record last summer. UW-Oshkosh fell miserably short,? Blakey jokes. ?It was in the paper down here, I was like, ?I can get about 4,000 of my closest friends and break the record?.?
Dodgeville, Wisconsin once held the record. ?That?s one of the angles I?m playing up here: bring it back to the Midwest,? Blakey says. ?I here Seattle is going to try to break the record next month.?
?It?s a record that?s continually growing, so you have to stay on top it,? Blakey adds.
Blakey?s own attempt will come Saturday, April 22nd at 1 p.m. at Coate Field on the UW-La Crosse Campus. The Guinness Book of World Records says a pillow fight need only last one minute.
?It (happens) in a designated area that?s clearly marked. They call that area the ?Dance Floor? ? I don?t know why,? Blakey explains. ?The pillows have to be bed pillows, not sofa cushions.?
Participants need to sign in, the event will be recorded and photographed and that information will be sent to Guinness for verification.
There will be two areas: a ?Family Zone? where hitting is kept friendly; and the ?Gladiator Zone?, where the fighting will be more fierce.
Blakey is also asking for small donations for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
?Make-A-Wish sent my cousin to Disney World when she had leukemia. It?s a way to pay them back for what they did for my family.?
Registration will begin at noon on Saturday, April 22nd. If you have any questions, contact Autumn at (608) 780-6719.
Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.