Last June, more than 2,500 people danced the hokey pokey on Poughkeepsie’s Walkway Over the Hudson, breaking the Guinness World Record for “Longest Single Line of Dancers.” This year, staffers at the Valley’s newest state park hope to smash an even more ambitious record: that for “Most People in a Chorus Line.” On May 4, upwards of 3,000 dancers are expected to converge on the footbridge and kick up their heels in a professionally choreographed routine devised by Livia Vanaver, cofounder of New Paltz’s Vanaver Caravan dance troupe.
This event coincides with New York State’s second annual I Love My Park Day, during which volunteers clear trails, plant trees, and otherwise
improve parks and historic sites around the state.
Here’s a by-the-numbers look at I Love My Park Day, and at the Walkway’s record-breaking attempt:
1.28 Length of the Walkway in miles
2 Guinness World Records the Walkway currently holds (“Longest Single Line of Dancers” and “Longest Footbridge”)
212 Height of the Walkway in feet
2,569 Dancers who did the hokey pokey last year
1,629 Dancers needed to break the “Chorus Line” record this year
500,000 People who visit the Walkway each year (approximately)
179 State parks in New York
18 State parks in the Valley
2,000 Volunteers (statewide) at last year’s I Love My Park Day
6,000 Hours they spent working on park improvement
» More about Walkway Over the Hudson’s first world record
» More about Walkway Over the Hudson in Poughkeepsie, NY
