Last weekend saw a huge influx of travelers parking around downtown Fairhope to join in an attempt to break a Guinness World Record for biggest hug. The previous record had 600 people joined up to embrace each other for nearly a minute. Fairhope's Committee For Record Breaking And Waste Water Management had the idea last fall and has been marketing the campaign across the Southeast.
Saturday morning the participants changed into their sleek attire, skin-suits and special hug hats, that provide the most ergonomic embrace between several people. The special suits lessened the overall square footage of the hug pile allowing them to fit on the pier.
The organizers called off numbers and one by one the hug started, multiplying with exponential speed until almost 899 people were fully embraced. One participant, Frank Durf, fell of the pier and was carried off by geese. Some say you could smell the hug from downtown. With the humidity and the skin suits you could see members squirming a sliding through the crowd like a pile of earthworms at a Widespread Panic concert.
The event was a huge success and drew in many tourist to spend money locally. Organizers hope to break some record every year to continue their success.
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