House of Flavors to attempt world record.

LUDINGTON – House of Flavors Restaurant will attempt to break the world record for largest ice cream dessert made. The Ludington restaurant plans to build a half mile ice cream desert, made from 12,700-plus scoops of ice cream, along eight city blocks of Ludington Avenue between Park and Harrison streets in order to break the record held in the Guinness Book of World Records. The event is scheduled to take place on June 11 at 6 p.m.

“This world record attempt really gets us in the spirit to kick off the summer season,” said Barry Neal, general manager of House of Flavors. “And what could be more fun than a giant, free ice cream social and community celebration in downtown Ludington?”

The event also will serve as the official “Love Ludington” gathering and group photo for 2016. Love Ludington is a grassroots community movement that highlights and promotes what people love about the area and its residents. It also champions projects and awards mini grants each year. Past Love Ludington activities include installing a downtown community garden and painting wall murals near it, launching sunset beach bonfires, and taking an aerial photo of hundreds of people grouped into a heart shape on the west end of Ludington Avenue.

“This event is an incredible opportunity to unite Ludington residents and businesses, along with visiting friends and family, to celebrate all that we love about this truly special community,” said Julie Schrader, chair of the Love Ludington committee. “We hope everyone comes out to express their passion for Ludington and their fondness for one of our most adored icons – House of Flavors ice cream!”

Participation Opportunities

There are multiple ways to get involved in this first-time event in Ludington:

• Ice cream eaters – More than 6,000 people are needed to consume two scoops of ice cream each, and eaters should arrive by 5 p.m.at any point along the eight-block stretch to watch construction of the ice cream trough and building of the dessert so they are ready when the eating begins at 6 p.m. For those who may be squeamish about the thought of sharing one giant dessert, the trough will act as a serving dish from which ice cream will be scooped into individual bowls for consumption (eaters can also take home a commemorative bowl). No registration is necessary, but participants can RSVP at the event Facebook page where they can also follow other event details.
  

• Scoopers and other volunteers – Approximately 1,000 volunteers are needed – 500 scoopers to make the dessert, and another 500 to assist with other tasks like setting up the trough, passing out ice cream bowls and spoons, tear-down, etc. Shifts will run from 3 to 7 p.m., and volunteers can register at downtownludington.org/volunteer.

• Block captains – Sixteen block captains and teams are sought, one on each side of the eight blocks of dessert, to help recruit volunteers and manage the dessert-building tasks on their side of the block. Captains are encouraged to create a mini “block party” along the ice cream by choosing a theme and planning their own celebratory elements to create a festive atmosphere. Those interested in becoming a block captain should contact Jen Tooman at 231-845-6237 or jen@downtownludington.org. 

Guinness World Record Qualification Details

The dessert must be built following a detailed set of rules to qualify for the longest ice cream dessert, which also must be carefully documented to determine if Ludington is in fact the Guinness World Record holder June 11. Some contest details include:

• Measurement to win: This record is for the longest ice cream dessert prepared in terms of physical size, measured in meters and centimeters, with the equivalent measurement also given in feet and inches. The current record is held by the city of Manurewa, a suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. The city built and consumed an ice cream dessert on Feb. 28, 2015 measuring 596.50 meters (or 1,957 feet/1 inch).

• Toppings required: The longest ice cream dessert must be more than just ice cream – it must also contain at least one extra topping in the correct proportion that is a “traditional” ingredient. Ludington’s dessert will feature chocolate syrup, whipped cream and Michigan maraschino cherries. As a fun twist for the Ludington record attempt, several different ice cream flavors will be featured (the rules require at least one flavor of ice cream).

• One continuous dessert: To qualify as the longest ice cream dessert, it must be one continuous food item. Ice cream scoops must touch each other, with no spaces or breaks. Thus the dessert will be served in one, continuous metal trough constructed from seamless house gutters.

• Entirely edible: The ice cream dessert must be entirely edible. After the dessert is built, it must be donated for general consumption or divided and distributed.

• Evidence for verification – While Guinness World Records does not send an official representative to verify that Ludington broke the record, it has a rigorous documentation process that Ludington must follow, including an inventory of the ingredients with weights of each ingredient and a log of the scales, two independent witness statements that the rules were followed (and one witness must provide proof of authority in weights and measures), photographic evidence of the preparation and measuring/ weighing, and video evidence of the record attempt and measuring process.