Soaked in Positive Vibes 🔫

On Saturday, September 21, 2019, people young and old converged on The Richmond Flying Squirrels Diamond for RVA SPLASHFEST, which aimed to break the world record for the largest pop-up watergun fight. Organized by Josh Roth, Zane Robinson, and Hallelujah, VCU alumni and founders of Get Up & Get It, LLC, the event was inspired by a series of viral videos the trio created earlier that year challenging random strangers to participate in a water gun fight.

"The whole point of this is to spread love and spread joy, and that's what we're doing," Josh Roth said to WTVR. “As you can see, everyone is smiling, everyone is having fun, and that's the whole point of it," Roth said.

The Guinness World Record for the largest water gun fight was set in California in 2013 with more than 3,800 people. Roth claimed that there were a little more than 4,000 people in attendance for the event based on check-in data at the entrance. However, there was not a Guinness representative on site to officially verify the number.

I’m so grateful to have been part of the inaugural event, which I learned was organized by just one month. The event was nothing but positive vibes all around. People were getting sprayed all over, but it was all in good fun. As I ran around like a kid squirting my water gun, I could not stop smiling. The event spread so much joy and love that you could feel it buzzing through the air.

This event was exactly what RVA needed to end the summer on a high note, and it was a great reminder that we need to play and have fun no matter how old we are.

Attendees told 8News that it was nice to see the community come together for the event. Many people at the event and on social media expressed hopes that Get Up & Get It to make RVA SPLASHFEST an annual event. I can’t wait to see it happen again next summer!