Macon Aims to Break Guinness World Record for Largest Kazoo Ensemble at Cherry Blossom Festival

This year’s International Cherry Blossom Festival won't just be about celebrating the arrival of spring and pink cherry tree blossoms. On Friday, March 28th, Macon will attempt to claim the Guinness World Record for the Largest Kazoo Ensemble at the Atrium Health Amphitheater. With thousands of residents and visitors expected to participate, the city hopes to beat the standing record of 5,190 participants, set in London in 2011.

Tickets for the event go on sale Tuesday, February 4, for just $5, with proceeds benefiting the Otis Redding Foundation and the Otis Redding Center for the Arts. Children six and under get in free. Attendees can purchase tickets at this link or in person at the amphitheater’s box office.

Visit Macon is giving away free keepsake kazoos to be used during the attempt to break the world record (Photograph courtesy of the Tubman Museum)

The pop-up kazoo exhibit celebrates over 150 years of the unique instrument as well as Black History Month. Kazoos were inspired by the African horn-mirliton or onion flute, according to a recent press release from Visit Macon.

Macon has a unique connection to this humble instrument. According to legend, freed slave Alabama Vest created the first kazoo prototype right here in the 1840s, with the help of local clockmaker Thaddeus Von Clegg. The duo introduced their invention at the Georgia State Fair in 1852, dubbing it the “Down South Submarine.” The kazoo has since played a role in music history, embraced by artists from The Beatles to Jimi Hendrix.

To celebrate this legacy, Visit Macon and the Tubman African American Museum launched a pop-up Kazoo Exhibit on National Kazoo Day, Tuesday, January 28th. The exhibit, featuring rare instruments and interactive photo ops, will remain open through March.

Leading the world record attempt on March 28th will be kazoo expert Rick Hubbard, and every participant will receive a keepsake kazoo to prove they were part of history. 

“We are going all out for this record,” said Gary Wheat, President & CEO of Visit Macon. “It’s all about making some good noise and drawing attention to what Macon has to offer.”

Another new exhibit at the museum, Freedom Seekers, is presented in partnership with Mercer University students and teaches visitors about history through advertisements in the Macon Telegraph from 1826 through 1865 for sales of "enslaved people [and notices about] runaways, auctions, and detainees." Freedom Seekers will be on display through March 22nd.

The Tubman Museum has partnered with Amazon to offer free entry on Saturday, February 1st in celebration of Black History Month.

The Kazoo exhibit will be on display through Tuesday, April 1, 2025 and the Tubman Museum is open from Tuesday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets to the Tubman Museum cost $10 for adults and $6 for visitors 3 to 17. The museum offers discounted group rates and tickets for seniors, college students, educators, military members, and more.