7-Eleven celebrates 46th with giant Slurpee

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 12/07/2015 (3710 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A super-size Slurpee set a world record in Winnipeg on Saturday.

As part of 7-Eleven Canada’s 46th anniversary celebrations, its convenience store at 119 Salter St. mixed a 711-litre cherry Slurpee, which stood about 10-feet tall in one of its characteristic cups.

But its straw was just for show.

“It was for the photo-op, to celebrate and to set a new world record. This has never been done before, 711 litres,” said Paula Araya-Alvarez, 7-Eleven’s regional marketing manager.

Because they wouldn’t be able to maintain the quality of the Slurpee for the day, no one would be sipping on the giant drink, she said.

Free Slurpees were being given out from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at all 7-Eleven locations while quantities lasted.

Most everyone’s Slurpees on Salter were turning into puddles of liquid in mere minutes, as temperatures hovered around 30 C.

Brothers Braxton, 7, and Chay, 3, didn’t mind the heat.

“They taste good. There’s lots of flavours. I like orange, Coke and vanilla,” Braxton said of the frosty drinks.

“It’s yummy,” Chay added between slurps.

7-Eleven Canada’s anniversary party was especially festive in Winnipeg, as the city was named the Slurpee capital of the world for the 16th consecutive year in June.

On Saturday, Mr. Slurpee, the brand’s mascot, presented Winnipeggers with a bronze trophy in honour of its lofty title.

Araya-Alvarez wouldn’t say how many Slurpees people in Winnipeg have consumed in the last year or in the last 16 years. That information is confidential, she said.

7-Eleven chose the Salter location for its massive Slurpee party to show off one of its newest stores.

“We wanted to give the neighbourhood a great party. They’ve welcomed us with open arms. We opened at the end of May, and we haven’t looked back. And as you can see, we’ve got a lot of Slurpee fans already,” Araya-Alvarez said as a queue of about 50 people wound out the door, waiting for their free drinks.

Face-painting and craft stations, paired with live music, made for quite a block-party atmosphere.

Missing from the party was Scott Burton, an ultra-marathoner who planned to run to all 45 7-Eleven locations in Winnipeg Saturday with a group of friends.

He started at 12 a.m. and hoped to reach every store by the stroke of midnight the following night.

“I thought about how long would it take to hit every single 7-Eleven, and honestly, it took weeks to plot them all out to find the most efficient route possible,” Burton said.

“It’s a care-free, fun thing, and it’s a little bit goofy. It’s got a quirky, Manitoba feel to it.”

The course he charted runs a very appropriate 71.1 miles (114.4 kilometres).

Burton said he didn’t plan to drink a Slurpee at every location, but would stop for a photo-op at each store — and maybe toss back a few Slurpees here and there.

He expected his group of runners to stop and re-fuel with food and water or get first aid at about 50 per cent of the 7-Eleven stores.

Burton planned to take a lot more breaks Saturday than he would during an ultra-marathon because of the high humidity.

“It’s safety first, really. This isn’t an ego thing; we’re not breaking a world record for speed or anything,” he said. “It’s just a fun thing to do. This year we’re going to do the ultimate run, and nobody’s going to be able to top this baby.”

jessica.botelho-urbanski@freepress.mb.ca