World record for largest Halloween party is broken

The clock struck 12:10 a.m. and 508 signatures were recorded as creator Wesley Barnes knew his task for the night was complete.

Barnes compiled logbooks of the signatures on Halloween to send into the Guinness World Records for the largest Halloween party at the Bluebird.

“I accomplished my mission,” Barnes said.

The previous record held 362 in attendance with compliance to the Guinness World Records. Barnes surpassed this, and he plans to send all information to the main headquarters in London as soon as possible.

Once the information is received there, it will be reviewed for proof of verification including photos, videos and witnesses.

Barnes and his team of seven volunteers made sure to have everything in place while at the Bluebird. He and his team verified proof of attendees with two logbooks, one at the main door and one in the hands of the team members circulating throughout the venue.

Throughout the night Barnes and his team members had to keep track of those leaving the venue to have a precise verification of the number of people in attendance. Barnes recorded the people who left the venue for the night and did not include those signatures in the logbooks.

The specifics were difficult, but Barnes said with the help of his team it was made possible and everyone knew they had a job to do.

Barnes arrived at the Bluebird at 9:45 p.m. to begin the night’s setup and organization. While there he spoke with members from headliner band Hairbanger’s Ball, who announced the record-breaking attempt on stage and directed the audience to the logbooks to make their contribution of the night.

Bear’s Place comedy show host Mike Tucker was there and said he was pleased with the idea of attempting a Guinness World Record in Bloomington.

“This is a perfect town for the record to be broken,” Tucker said. “Getting in the book takes a lot of hard work.”

Among the excitement of the evening for the record breakers, the Bluebird held a costume contest that presented three winners. This year the best costume was Borat, second place was Zelda and third place was Karl from “The Simpsons.”

During the party Barnes said he had a chance to speak with some of those dressed in the most interesting costumes, and his applause during the costume contest went to someone who had blinds covering his face and referred to himself as a “shady guy.”
Barnes said his nerves subsided after the record time was up and signatures were accounted for. His Halloween party worked in collaboration with the Bluebird and the team of volunteers on Saturday.

“I owe everything to my team,” said Barnes. “It just all fell into place.”