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We'll need lots of beer and kolbassa

Organizers expect 35,000 to attend socials

By: Geoff Kirbyson

Posted: 05/7/2010 1:00 AM | Comments: 0 (including replies)

Marnie Strath and Kevin Walters hold a gigantic ticket to the world’s biggest social. Don’t worry; the regular social tickets aren’t quite this big.

Kevin Walters has crunched all the numbers for the groundbreaking World's Largest Social but there are still a couple of figures that escape him.

The executive director of Manitoba Homecoming 2010 said about 35,000 people are expected to attend socials in 63 communities throughout the province on May 15. It's predicted they will eat 90,000 cubes of cheese, 60,000 pickles, 3,000 loaves of KUB bread, 741,000 grams of Old Dutch potato chips and 1,451 kilograms of kolbassa. Vendors around the province are preparing to deliver thousands of bottles of Molson beer to social halls and community centres, which will be accompanied by hundreds of bottles of Crown Royal whiskey.

World's largest social? Sure, why not?

Is this REALLY the world's largest social?

Kevin Walters and Marnie Strath took their case to the people at Guinness World Records to see if the provincewide social would qualify as the biggest of all time but were told it doesn't have such a category.

Then they asked if it might qualify as the world's largest birthday party, to coincide with Manitoba's 140th birthday, but were told that category had been dissolved.

No matter, Walters said.

"We are claiming the title without fear of contradiction. I think we can safely say this will be the largest social ever held," he said.

-- Kirbyson

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But he's not sure how much salami will be ordered. More importantly, he can only guess how much of it will end up on the shoulders of unsuspecting social-goers.

"An infinitessimal amount," he said with a laugh.

(Walter said a night-long gag among Winnipeggers at a Homecoming social held at the Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto last year was to see how many times they could give Torontonians the "salami shoulder" and then monitor how long it took for them to realize a piece of luncheon meat had become part of their outfit.)

The Winnipeg social will be the largest in the province with more than 2,000 people expected to converge on the Winnipeg Convention Centre. Other cities and towns are hitting above their weight -- Portage la Prairie and Selkirk are projecting 1,400 people each, followed by Morden (1,100), St. Pierre-Jolys (1,000) and Virden (700).

Marnie Strath, co-ordinator of the World's Largest Social, said when plans were first launched last year, she was hoping to get 30 communities to participate. She said about 1,000 tickets have been sold for the Winnipeg event, which will feature performances by Rocki Rolletti, Fabulous George and the Zodiacs and That '70s Band, roughly half of what she's expecting.

"We know what this community is like. Everybody says, 'we're going.' I don't have any hesitation in saying there will be a huge influx at the last minute. One community told us they never sell anything until the day or two before," she said.

"I think the weather will play a big role. If people can't get out golfing or go to the lake, we'll be busy."

Strath said all of the money raised at each social will stay in the local community. She expects more than $250,000 to be put towards new skating rinks, playground structures, baseball diamonds and other initiatives.

Brandon's social boasts arguably the highest-profile performer, veteran rocker Tom Cochrane, who was born in Lynn Lake (and will have celebrated his birthday the day before).

There will also be plenty of people-watching opportunities, Walters said. Cindy Klassen, a six-time Olympic medallist, will attend the Winnipeg social while the Snowbirds will kick off the day's festivities in Neepawa with an air show.

geoff.kirbyson@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition May 7, 2010 A13

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