CONNELLSVILLE – It took 645 participants in red, white and blue tubes to break a Guinness World Record on the Youghiogheny River on Saturday, plus a whole host of volunteers.

Tube da Ville, an event more than a year in the making, paid off with the world record for the longest line of connected swim tubes.

“It is my pleasure to announce that you have achieved a new Guinness World Record title, and you are officially amazing,” Sarah Casson, an official adjudicator with Guinness World Records, said over a loudspeaker to a chorus of cheers at Yough River Park in Connellsville.

The event, which also included a daylong festival with musical acts and food vendors, was the brainchild of Kevin Leonard and Jason Bandemer. The co-owners of Trippy Hippie Brewing Co. said they couldn’t have pulled it off without support from the Fayette County community.

“It was a massive effort to make this happen, but it’s well worth it now,” said Bandemer, who fought to hold back tears of joy. “I didn’t think I’d be this emotional. We put a ton of effort into it, and it’s amazing for the City of Connellsville and for our whole entire area. It’s awesome.”

Bandemer spent much of the morning in the waters of the Youghiogheny to help organize the seven lines of connected tubers who had to remain joined for 30 seconds to break the record of 620 set in Portland, Oregon, 13 years ago.

Leonard didn’t plan to get into the water, but he did when needed in the final moments before the attempt. He stripped off his shoes and jumped into the Yough in his socks, dress pants and white T-shirt to help make the record a reality.

“We were so close, we had to get it,” Leonard said. “If that meant me getting in the water, it is what it is.”

Guinness’ Casson said she started working with Tube da Ville organizers more than six months ago, and volunteers from Connellsville and across the Laurel Highlands joined in to help with the event.

“We had so much community support, so much support from our local businesses,” Bandemer said. “We put hours of blood, sweat and tears into this.”

The event drew supporters from near – Janine and Rick Brooks of Connellsville celebrated their 45th wedding anniversary on blue tubes on the Yough – and far – the Pittsburgh Paddlers brought a group of nine outdoor enthusiasts to help break the record.

“This is regional, even national,” Fayette County Commissioner Vince Vicites said. “There’s people from out of state here, from across Pennsylvania and across southwestern Pennsylvania.”

The event helped showcase an industry that brought more than $2.2 billion into the Laurel Highlands in 2024 and supports more than 23,000 jobs across Fayette, Somerset and Westmoreland counties.

“It highlights the recreational tourism opportunities that Connellsville provides and is well known for,” Vicites said just steps from the Great Allegheny Passage, which runs through Yough River Park. “It’s a real hub for recreational tourism.”

That’s what keeps bringing Casey and Bryan Bonidie of Pittsburgh to the Blue Canoe RV Resort on the Yough in Connellsville.

“We’re down here all the time, constantly using the trail,” Casey Bonidie said after posing for a photo with a Tube da Ville backdrop. “Just down here for a great event and happy to be out. We’re usually kayakers, so it’s a little different for us to jump in a tube today, but it’s really fun.”

It certainly was fun for Pamela and Donald McKeel of nearby Dunbar. They’ve been looking forward to Tube da Ville since they learned about it earlier this year.

“We’re at the river all the time anyway, but this is awesome,” Pamela said. “I’m very excited. We’ve been talking about this for months. A Guinness World Record is coming to little C-Ville!”

The event was so popular that organizers might try to replicate it next year.

“ I think we could definitely do it,” Now that we have the blueprint, it would be awesome if that was an annual thing. But this was the first one. I think it’s something that people are going to remember here for a long, long time.”

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About Pennsylvania’s Laurel Highlands
The Laurel Highlands is a 3,000-square-mile, mountainous region in southwestern Pennsylvania and a four-season playground for outdoor recreation. Just an hour east of Pittsburgh, the region offers top-tier skiing, hiking, biking and golf, alongside historic sites, family attractions and world-class resorts.