Dundurn Guinness Record attempt - July 1, 2023. Left to Right - Trevor Squire - Velociraptor, Chelsea Mighton - Triceratops, Teri Walker - T-Rex, behind Camera Trevor Walker.
August 14th 2023
On July 1st, sporting inflatable t-rex, triceratops, pterodactyl and velociraptor costumes, Teri’s brother from Quinton - Trevor Walker, son Trevor Squire and his partner Chelsea Mighton (Borden) be were part of Big Mur’s Taverns’ attempt at breaking the current Guinness Book of Records holder, which was set in 2019 in Los Angeles of 252 people.
In 2020 when communities were locked down, Teri saw a video of people walking through a residential area wearing dino costumes. “The whole video was so funny I thought that was pretty neat..I ordered three so each of us had a dinosaur suit,” like the fairy tale the suits attracted some attention, “it was almost like the pied piper. All of the kids just came running out. When I got home and checked Facebook people in Punnichy were going, “Did you just see dinosaurs walking by?” ..and so we did it a couple more times.”
They would walk by businesses, and when the essential workers came out at the local co-op and the diner, they would yell ‘thank you’ for their work during the pandemic. Teri works at the Raymore Silver Heights long-term care home, they put on a parade for the residents. The dinosaurs danced to the delight of spectators. “One lady was laughing so hard she was just about out of breath.”
What started as three inflatable costumes soon became 8. Rounding out the herd, Teri has a rainbow unicorn, a hippo in a tutu and the poop emoji. “I just started accumulating them...the following year, we did another parade for Father’s Day, and I brought my costumes to work, and a few of my coworkers put them on, and we just had a ball.”
When a coworker sent her the information about Big Mur’s world record attempt, she said, “well I’ve been training for this for three years.” She was impressed with the well-organized event, even though it had never been done before. Free burgers and a drink were provided by Big Mur’s. Going to Dundurn in particular was special for Teri. In the mid 80’s, she and her brother Trevor completed their basic training course as part of the Canadian Reserves. “It brings up really good memories.”
The attempt drew over 1100 people on one of the hottest days of summer to the small Saskatchewan community of Dundurn. To stay cool, they kept their inflatables off until just before the flyover by the drone and Teri had small personal fans to hang around their necks inside the costumes. Many people kept their face out of the suit while it was zipped up. Participants should receive a certificate from Guinness by email in 12-15 weeks.
Teri said there is some chatter with people putting forward new ideas, such as an Area 51 theme where people dress up as aliens. So needless to say, this may not be the last time the population of Dundurn is inflated.
