With 306 entries, a golf cart parade at Sun City Center surpasses the mark it set last year for the Guinness Book of World Records.
By JAY CRIDLIN
Published December 6, 2003
SUN CITY CENTER - It took three months, one airplane propeller and a small fortune to build.
But for Sally Nichols, it was all worth it to be a contender for the best-decorated golf cart in Sun City Center.
"Last year, I was Santa pulling a sleigh," Nichols, 52, said from the back of a cart decorated as a small airplane. "I was in the newspaper, I was on TV, but I didn't win. This year, we're going for the win."
Nichols, who works for Freedom Plaza, wasn't the only one gunning for a prize at Friday's annual Golf Cart Parade in Sun City Center.
With more than 300 carts entered in this year's parade, Sun City Center residents aimed for - and shattered - their own Guinness World Record for the World's Longest Golf Cart Parade.
"That's exactly what we were shooting for," said parade organizer Jim Cooper, who set the record last year with 191 carts. "If it hadn't been for the scare of weather, we would have had another 50 carts or so."
The annual holiday parade drew 306 carts, a figure Cooper said Guinness should certify as the new world record by February.
A cavalcade of honored guests, from Sheriff Cal Henderson to Ronald McDonald, were on hand as the parade passed among the 6,000 spectators who braved overcast skies.
Entrants seemingly whipped up cart decorations using any household object they could grab: plungers, leaf blowers, stuffed animals, inflatable alligators, tennis rackets and Boston Red Sox paraphernalia.
Most of the Christmas-themed carts were sheathed with wreaths and stocked with flocking, but some entrants spent days on carts that had nothing to do with the holidays.
Neighbors Kathy Thomas and Alice Deschryver, both 63, took home the prize for best-decorated cart among Sun City residents for their handiwork on a "boat" towed by a handmade stuffed manatee.
The ornate golf cart entered by Sun City's Beth Israel Congregation received the prize for best-decorated cart by an organization or club. The Noah's Ark-themed cart was festooned with 64 brand-new stuffed animals, which the synagogue will give to hospitalized children on Christmas Eve.
"Some of the work that goes into these floats is really amazing," said Laurence Hanney, the Sun City Center CPA tapped for the brain-sizzling task of tallying each cart as it crosses the finish line. "This is really typical of Sun City Center, where people really get involved and just go all out."
As for Nichols, she got her Christmas wish. Her Freedom Plaza-sponsored airplane cart - which featured a spinning propeller lifted straight from the nose of a Stinson aircraft - was named the parade's best decorated cart, bringing home a total of $1,250 in cash and gift certificates.
It was a day for everyone to feel like a child, said Janet LaChance, 71, of Sun City Center.
"We're young at heart," said LaChance, whose shiny, cherry-red cart bore a Jaguar hood ornament and a sign reading, "My Christmas Present."
Cooper said he's already set a goal for how many carts he'd like to see next year.
