It took more than five months to plan but only five minutes to achieve, when a group of dancers broke a Guinness World Record outside the Teutonia Club Saturday.

The festive lederhosen-and dirndl-clad bunch of more than 220 dancers set a new record for most people taking part in a traditional Bavarian dance around a maypole.

“This was just a wonderful experience,” said Christa Wenckstern, who travelled from St. Catharines to take part in the maypole dance.

“Dancing, we do it all the time in different places, but to do it with an official world record behind us is very neat and very gratifying,” said Tom Vogt, who travelled with the same group from St. Catharines that Wenck-stern did to participate.

The record-breaking dance took place during Maifest, a four-day springtime celebration that this year was a joint effort of the Teutonia Club and the Bavarian Club of Windsor. The 50-foot maypole was erected during the festival on Friday and in traditional form – using only manpower and without the help of modern machinery.

The old record for maypole dance participation was 173, set in Baughurst, England, last July.

Organizer Tracey Stiller said dozens more than the 173 required to beat the record turned out Saturday, and the simultaneous dancing around the maypole lasted longer than five minutes, which was the time they were required to beat. She said only about half of the participants were from Windsor.

The rest travelled from across Ontario, Michigan, Ohio and Iowa.

“I’m just happy that our friends came to support us from far away, and they really came in numbers, so it’s amazing,” said Stiller. “Everyone is just so ecstatic to be a part of this.”

Ryan Stiller, Tracey’s husband and co-organizer of this year’s local Maifest, said the maypole dance is a tradition that dates back to the 16th century in Bavaria and is a celebration of spring and renewal. The dance around the maypole occurs every time a new maypole is erected, which is typically once every three years, said Ryan.

After submitting all the requirements to Guinness World Records, Tracey Stiller said she hopes to have an official certificate verifying their record within a few weeks.

Wenckstern, who was born and raised in Munich, came to Canada when she was 19. She said there was irony in her participating in Saturday’s dance.

“This was my first maypole dance even though I grew up in Germany,” Wenckstern said with a laugh. She said although she learned the folk dance at school while in kindergarten, she never had the experience of dancing around a maypole.

Wenckstern said Saturday she was so happy she could cry, as memories of her German roots came flooding back as she circled the maypole along-side hundreds who share her heritage.

“Breaking the record was not the point. I just wanted to be a part of it,” said Wenck-stern. “But like they say, kill two birds with one stone.”