67 Blankets celebrates fifth anniversary with world record
As the celebrations coincided with the anniversary of the birth of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the event was called Mozart for Mandela.
67 Blankets for Nelson Mandela celebrated its fifth anniversary on January 27 at the Linder Auditorium at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg.
The organisation was established in 2014 to help provide handmade blankets and scarves to communities in need.
To celebrate the occasion and pay tribute to late former South African President Nelson Mandela, a new world record was set for the most people crocheting simultaneously.
The existing Guinness World Record of 604 people had been achieved by The Singleton Crafters from Australia in 2017.
Also read: 67 Blankets, a campaign built in the spirit of Madiba
67 Blankets for Nelson Mandela Day beat this record, with a total of 737 people crocheting together on the day.
They crocheted for a total of 27 minutes, each minute representing a year that Mandela had spent in prison.
As the celebrations coincided with the anniversary of the birth of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the event was called Mozart for Mandela.
Participants were entertained with music by the composer, with performances by a string quartet and pianist Eliza Kruger, as part of the Johannesburg International Mozart Festival.
There were also performances by the Jeppe Girls Marimba Band, as well as the Jeppe Pipe Band.
Jeppe Girls came to support their own former Jeppe Girl, Carolyn Steyn.
Also read: Jeppe Girls help 67 Blankets set new world record
300 Jeppe Girls, staff, parents and old girls, led by headmistress Dina Gonçalves, attended.
The squares the girls made will be used to make blankets for the less privileged in the Jeppe blanket drive later this year.
Steyn said she was touched and humbled by the attendance.
“It was an incredibly inspiring event, attended by people from all backgrounds and all walks of life, which once again demonstrated the South African spirit of Ubuntu. It served as an incentive, encouraging our KnitWits for Madiba to make lots of blankets and scarves for those in need, with a clear and fun goal.
“It also brought attention to our movement, and helped attract new membership,” said Steyn, the founder of 67 Blankets.
Outreach manager of Mandela Day Yase Godlo said they were excited about the day.
Also read: 67 Blankets celebrates Carolyn and Madiba
“We are thrilled to again be partnering with the 67 Blankets initiative, which continues to touch so many lives through the sterling work it does to propagate Madiba’s legacy and live his values of compassion and empathy. As they enter their fifth year and fifth world record attempt, we wish the KnitWits well as they again set out to make a concrete difference, stitch by stitch. With the new record set, the KnitWits continue to knit lives together.”
Documents will now be sent through to the Guinness World Records head office in London, where the new record will be ratified within the next few weeks.
