Little Falls Reclaims World Record with Epically Huge Ice Carousel
Over the weekend, the world record for largest ice carousel was reclaimed in Little Falls, MN.
This past weekend, the 5th Annual Sunny Zwilling Memorial I.C.E. Fest took place on Green Prairie Fish Lake in Little Falls. The free family-friendly fundraiser event included activities such as Human Foosball, Santa rides and pictures, hockey and skating, spear fishing, igloo building, airplane rides, curling, dog sledding, kite flying, human bowling and more. A warming tent offered hot drinks and food. Hosted by Pay It Forward Foundation, the Sunny Zwilling Memorial I.C.E. Fest raises money and awareness for Flyer Pride Pack (a weekend backpack food program) and Kare Kloset (a resource for students that struggle to have their basic needs met at home). In 2021, $20,000 was raised to Flyer Pride Pack and Kare Kloset.
One of the highlight events of the festival each year is a world-record attempt at the largest ice carousel. Last April, a group of Finnish Youtubers broke the world record with a carousel 1,000 feet in diameter.
Just days later, folks in the state of Maine broke the record with a carousel of their own coming in at 1,234 feet in diameter and 27 acres. Needless to say, the folks in Little Falls had their work cut out for them this year (literally!). Per a video at the Sunny Zwilling Memorial Ice Carousel Extravaganza- ICE Fest facebook page, cutting started at 8:30 Saturday morning.
According to a Facebook post by Chuck Zwilling, the final carousel was 1,325 feet across; .8 miles around; 31.65 acres; 80,000 tons; took 3 hours per rotation; and made 6 full rotations spinning continually for over 20 hours. As of writing, Guinness is yet to recognize the Little Falls ice carousel as the world's largest.