During the Feast of the Senses Festival in Innisfail, Australia last week, the local community managed to break a Guinness World Records title that had remained unbeaten for 29 years.
 
Growing and selling bananas is the main industry in the region, so it seems only right that the town take home the record for the Longest banana split.
 
Topping the longest banana split
The recipe for success included a staggering 40,000 bananas, 2,500 litres of ice cream and 2,000 litres of topping.
 
Hundreds of volunteers spent almost 12 hours setting up and preparing the delicious 8040 metres-long (26377.95 ft) dessert.
 
As there was nothing available long enough to hold the enormous banana split, the town sought the help of cardboard specialist Boxwars, which designed a beautiful castle-shaped framework.
 
 
Each person was given a section of the enormous fruit dessert to build and later got to taste their creation, once the record was confirmed by Guinness World Records adjudicator Pete Fairbairn.
 
He said: “It was a record attempt of epic proportions. The scale and involvement of the community was very exciting to witness. The Innisfail community are very passionate about their local produce so it was great to provide them with the new record”. 
 
Feast of the Senses CEO was thrilled with the result: “We’re so excited to have achieved the Guinness World Records title. We dreamed this concept up years ago and always remained hopeful that we would carry it out but to see it come to fruition through the support of the local community was something special”.
 
Kid putting ice cream on the longest banana split
 
The record achievement was the result of the Innisfail community coming together to support their farmers and celebrate the recovery of their hometown following the devastation caused by Tropical Cyclone Larry back in 2010.
 
The ages of the participants ranged from junior school kids to people from elderly care homes.
 
Aerial view of the longest banana split
 
Previously, the longest banana split measured 7,320 m (24,015 ft 8 in) and was made by the residents of Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania, USA, along Market Street, Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania, USA, on 30 April 1988.
 
Photography ©Craig Gilbert