GRAND RAPIDS — At the Judy Garland Festival on Saturday, June 21, a line of wheelchairs rolled along the yellow brick road to the dance floor.
As the Itasca Orchestra played “Over the Rainbow,” lions and wizards and Dorothys began to dance around the Yanmar Arena outdoor pavilion as they attempted to set a Guinness World Record.
The Judy Garland Museum and Mobility Mania aimed for the record for the most people in wheelchairs dancing in one place at one time. They needed more than 250 wheelchair users to beat the record, but only about 50 attended, said Lenny Brown, who helped record the attempt.
The heat, with a high of 93 degrees, kept some people from coming, including many in nursing homes and assisted living, said Myrna Peterson, co-founder of Mobility Mania with Lee Isaacs. Peterson said everyone who made it to the annual Judy Garland Festival still had a good time.
“It’s a fun opportunity just to be out on a beautiful day, following the yellow brick road to wonderful music and just celebrating life,” she said, dressed as the scarecrow. “We’re all just grateful to be alive.”
Peterson also dressed as the scarecrow in 2014 as part of setting the Judy Garland Museum’s world record for most people dressed head-to-toe in Wizard of Oz costumes in one place at one time. The museum still holds that record with 1,093 people, said Janie Heitz, the museum’s executive director.
In addition to the world record attempt, the Judy Garland Festival also had food trucks, a bouncy house and face painting along with booths with some of the event’s partners including members of the Minnesota Council on Disability and several members of the PLUM Catalyst. The PLUM Catalyst is responsible for creating the autonomous vehicle transit system goMARTI, which has 3 out of 5 vehicles with wheelchair access.
The attempt was followed by Broadway actor Marjie Shrimpton, who is from Grand Rapids, performing Judy Garland songs, including “Over the Rainbow.”
This year’s Judy Garland Festival marked the 50th anniversary of the Judy Garland Museum and the 30th anniversary of the day Peterson and Isaacs were hospitalized in the Miller-Dwan Building at Essentia Health in Duluth for separate road accidents.
“They were on the same day,” Isaacs said. “We both ended up neighbors at Miller-Dwan.”
It has also been 10 years since Peterson and Isaacs set the world record for most people in wheelchairs rolling in succession with 351 people, the event that ultimately led them to found Mobility Mania, Isaacs said. Mobility Mania has fought to overcome common obstacles for people with mobility challenges, including transportation and getting in and out of buildings.
“[The record attempt] really showed people how many people in our area really need help with transportation that were in wheelchairs that we never see,” he said. “And now we knew why we never saw them because they needed transportation.”
The goal of Saturday’s world record attempt was to spread awareness of accessibility needs in Northern Minnesota and statewide.
Heintz said the event meant a lot to her. Her sister lived in a wheelchair her whole life before dying six years ago.
“She would have loved every second of this,” she said. “It’s promoting accessibility, but it’s also promoting a cultural activity that people can do in our community. It’s just fun to see everybody leaning into that.”
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