Pillow Fight Manila 2011 aims for new world record

MANILA, Philippines - Here’s another chance for Pinoys to land in the record books. Pillow Fight Manila 2011 organizers are hoping to muster a crowd of at least 5,000 to break the current Guinness World Record for the largest participation in what has now become a global pop culture craze.

An International Pillow Fight Day is actually celebrated every April 2 in cities across the US, Canada and European countries like Spain, Poland and the UK, but Pillow Fight Manila 2011 will occur at the end of the year. The Hotel Sogo chain is spearheading the project and the campaign for attendees, specifically aged 18 and older, to help meet the goal of eclipsing the current 3,706-strong Guinness record made at the Minehead Butlins in Somerset in the UK on Nov. 14, 2008. The UK event was the highlight of the BBC’s Children in Need night.

Similarly, the Philippine staging will not just send feathers flying but will also jumpstart a Pillow for a Cause fund drive. This is meant to support student welfare and scholarships as well as facility improvement in state colleges and universities, according to organizers.

In the lead up to the main attraction in November, a series of cluster events like college and mall tours will run from July to October, targeting students, youth and young professionals to register as United Pillow Fighters, if not to encourage them to take part in the online activities for special prizes and rewards. Adding excitement to the culminating activity will be a concert featuring Pinoy rock acts. There’s no official venue yet, but the first-ever Pillow Fight Manila will definitely be held outdoors following the tradition of massive pillow fight events in the different parts of the world. Plus, it will use soft pillows (to be provided for by the hotel) and observe strict safety guidelines.

Hotel Sogo officials said that they decided to mount the event because like any good old pillow fight, they expect it to appeal to the good-humored nature of Pinoys as the game creates “fun and energy, bond and camaraderie between friends and strangers.”

“We are inviting all our kababayan to help us break the record, which now stands at a little less than 4,000 people participating in a pillow fight, come November 2011,” said Gus Corpus, Hotel Sogo’s chief operating officer in a presscon.

The last time the Philippines made it to the Guinness World Book of Records for an organized gathering was in 2009 in Cebu for the world’s largest dance class initiated by Dancesport Team Cebu City.

For more details on the Project Pillow Fight, check out http://www.facebook.com/PillowFightManila2011.