Hurley attempts UTV parade world record

HURLEY — Silver Street was packed with off-road vehicles Friday for the 30th annual Memorial Day Weekend ATV/UTV Rally, the highlight of which was an attempt by the Hurley Chamber of Commerce to set the Guinness World Record for most Utility Task Vehicles in a parade.

While official numbers still need to be confirmed, Mark and Terri Bluse, who were designated to record the number of UTVs that passed by the trailhead for the Iron Horse Trail, counted 285 UTVs that participated in the parade, along with 372 all-terrain vehicles for a total parade length of 657 vehicles.

No previous record exists for the most UTVs in a parade, according to representatives of Guinness World Records. However, there are a number of rules the chamber and parade participants had to follow to be designated the official record holder.

Among the requirements is that the vehicles must preregister and all UTVs must ride in a line at the front of the parade, according to Rita Franzoi, who coordinated the event for the chamber.

There will also be photo and video taken as various points in the parade to ensure everyone stays in line and completes the entirety of the 2-mile route. The route began near the Carey Mine Convenience store before taking the trail east toward downtown and Silver Street. The vehicles continued down Silver Street before turning around near the Montreal River. They then proceeded to end on Fifth Avenue.

Franzoi was excited when the Daily Globe reached her for comment before the start of the event.

“There is a lot of activity going on, I see a lot of people coming from out of the area to visit plus there is a lot of local participation in the ATV/UTV parade,” said Franzoi. “It’s just a really great thing for area people getting together (for) lots of excitement.”

Hurley previously set the record for the most ATVs in a parade, which was later broken by another community. An attempt to recapture the record was unsuccessful.