A New Gnome World Record! 755 “Gnomes” Gather in Atlanta!

There are over 40,000 records in the Guinness World Records database, but few more relevant to this group of club members than the “largest gathering of people dressed as garden gnomes.” Since November 18, 2011, this coveted title has been held by a BBC Hereford & Worcester, which gathered 478 people dressed like gnomes in Worcester, UK to raise money for BBC Children in Need. In fact, our very own club member, Davy Turner, was part of that legendary day!

Well now, we have a new (pending) world record holder to congratulate in the U.S. city of Atlanta, Georgia! It took a full decade to get these gnomes’ numbers up, but a group called Krewe of the Grateful Gluttons organized its tenth attempt to break the record at the Inman Park Festival Parade on April 28. This is a wonderful local group that has been advocating for grown-up playtime since 1999, and its mission is to get everyone to come out and play because creative participation in civic events is a priceless contribution to the community. This year, Krewe of the Grateful Gluttons was able to bring together a whopping 755 people dressed as garden gnomes. In 2016, the group was only able to gather 260 gnomes, and in 2017 that number reached 315. So, this is definitely a big accomplishment for organizer Chantelle Rytter, her Krewe, and all gnomekind!

At the time this article was written, the group was still waiting for official confirmation from Guinness World Records to confirm that it is, in fact, the new world record holder. But regardless, this is still very exciting news for our growing community of gnome fans. Red hats filled the park, white beards were adorned by gnomes of all shapes and sizes, and the gnome pun signs were nothing short of hilarious. Although I moved away from Atlanta too soon to get to participate in this momentous day myself, I couldn’t be prouder of my old city!

So, with this record-breaking day in mind, you might be wondering what other gnome records exist in the world. Right? Well, our very own Ann Atkin still holds the Guinness World Record for the “largest collection of gnomes and pixies” (2,042), a record that was confirmed on March 25, 2011 at the four-acre Gnome Reserve in West Putford, Devon, UK. And the record for the “largest garden gnome” is held by Ron Hale of Nanoose, British Columbia in Canada. Standing at 25 feet, 11 inches tall, this gnome was built in 1998 for an amusement park that no longer exists, so it stands on the grounds of a petrol station today. Congratulations to our famous gnome friends in Atlanta and aspiring record-breakers all around the world!

Discovering Gnome Coffee Liqueur…in Atlanta of All Places!

Greetings gnomes and gnomettes,

As you may or may not be aware, many of us gnomes have relocated to the deep south. Oh you want to stalk us, do you? Well we’re in Atlanta but I’m NOT giving out gate code!

I, for one, was a bit concerned about how gnome-friendly it is down here. I mean, these are the people who once owned slaves. How do you think they treat their gnomes?!

A little below the belt? Maybe. Okay. Don’t hit me! Moving on.

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On that note, there was a sunny weekend afternoon recently when I found myself craving something dark and delicious. Before I knew it, I was belly up at The Porter Beer Bar in Little 5 Points.

Would you believe they have 800 beers here? God that’s stressful. My kinda stress!

Well I’m sitting there picking my nose and trying to make up my mind, when I spy this bottle out of the corner of my eye…

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Chouffe Coffee Liqueur? Was I seeing this right?!

I promptly made best friends with the bartender (I mean, who really doesn’t want to have a gnome best friend…it’s kinda like having a gay best friend.) and requested a private groping session with that bottle.

My new buddy went the extra mile and poured me a shot. Now that’s what I call service. He even introduced me to the resident Chouffe. Clearly he’s in good company…feast your eyes on those ominous unpainted gnomes lurking in the background!

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Gnome liqueur was simply delicious…there’s no way around it. Roasty, malty, uber-coffee-y goodness that deserves to be savored to the last drop. I didn’t know these Chouffe gnomes made any kind of non-beer booze, but I haven’t come across any other booze varieties. Have you?

Apparently, this is really rare stuff, and the Chouffe brewery doesn’t even advertise it on their website. I’ve been doing some Googling and found a few places that sell it online.

According to BOE, “Chouffe coffee liqueur is obtained through the distillation of Chouffe with the addition of grain alcohol and 100% natural coffee extracts and a dash of Mc Chouffe. Serve hot, covered with whipped cream, or cold.”

Mmmm freaking mmmmmmmm.

However, I’ve never seen it in a store and am highly doubting that I will anytime soon. But then again, I never expected to encounter it in the first place…let alone in Atlanta!

Spoiler alert: We gnomes will be visiting the Chouffe brewery THIS MAY! If there is any coffee booze onsite, you’d better bet we’ll find it.

Tootaloo drunkies. Hope you’re beginning to recover from your Mardi Gras shennanigans.

xoxo,
Kamikaze