Well over a thousand dinosaurs roamed downtown Vernal on Friday as part of the annual Dinah SOAR Days celebration and an official attempt to break the world record for ‘Largest Gathering of People Dressed as Dinosaurs’. While an official announcement has yet to be made, the holding pin utilized for the record count definitely held more than the previous record of 468 held by Palm Beach, Florida. Locals involved in planning the event shared that Friday’s count reached 800 dinosaurs in the holding pin but the official announcement from the Guinness World Record judges is pending. The dinosaur costumes on Friday certainly demonstrated the feeling of community pride in Vernal as Dinosaurland and that feeling carried through the weekend event. The air balloon festival welcomed 42 pilots from 7 states and the weather cooperated for air balloons to fly all 3 mornings. Lesha Coltharp, Director of Tourism for Uintah County, reported that this was the biggest year yet for Dinah SOAR Days attendance. “It takes a community to pull off an event this size,” shares Coltharp. “Vernal should be proud. The pilots always tell me this event is top 3 for them and the organization of the event and the community make it that.”
