Pelhřimov, CR - City of Records

9th Annual Festival of Records, Curiosities and Budvar plus a museum

Pelhřimov, CR - City of Records

* Pelhřimov is the city of Records. Its Museum of Records is open all year, and this weekend was the 9th Annual Festival of Records, Curiosities and Budvar Beer, sponsored by the Dobry Den Agency.
The fun started Friday. The public competed in races with an egg on a spoon and races on stilts. People also raced to see who could use up a bar of soap fastest by washing their hands.
The main event was the record- breaking attempt of frog-jumper Jan Brázda. He jumped 20 m carrying a 100-kg keg of beer in his teeth and on his shoulders. Later that night, TV Nova's Rychlý Prachy - Fast Money entertainment show was taped.
Saturday there were more races - with tires, wheelbarrows, wives and much more. Jindřich Laky set a new record for time riding a stationary bicycle 200 km. In the center of Masarykovo Square, Martin Komárek carved a 2 m high Eiffel Tower out of a large piece of wood with a chainsaw.
Sunday is traditionally reserved for Budvar events. Keg-throwing, beer coaster-throwing and Stammgast races complemented drinking for time races, with one liter and 6 half-liters.
A trip to the Pelhřimov Museum of Records, also sponsored by Dobry Den, is like a trip down memory lane from festivals past: There the biggest umbrella, shoe, lollipop, shirt, jacket, hangar, safety pin, frying pan and toothbrush are displayed.
A museum representative said that efforts to legitimize most Pelhřimov records with the Guiness Book of Records had been futile so far. Dobry Den is trying, but Guiness does not seem to be listening to its off-the-wall record-breaking efforts. There is a section in the Czech translation of Guiness dedicated to Pelhřimov.
Besides Budvar, Mountfield, from Mnichovice, displayed its products: Farm equipment, miniature hockey games and bicycles, among others at the festival.

George Griffis