Mega-treat a world record

After days of cooking, volunteers and the TV filming crew officially revealed the world’s largest Rice Krispies treat at a fundraiser for the Community Center of La Cañada Flintridge on Sunday.

The world record Rice Krispies treat, which was cooked and revealed at the center’s baseball and softball fields, broke the previous record (2,500) by more than four times as much, settling at 10,460 lbs.

The center netted about $5,000, after expenses.

“We’re happy with that number,” said Nordvedt. “We had about three weeks to put this on and we worked as hard as we could, but the amount of community support was a great part of the turnout. It was a successful day.

“I was so impressed by how many people came out.”

About 600 people showed up for the event and participated in the carnival, food booths and the reveal of the treat.

The cooking took place Friday and Saturday, with the carnival starting at 1 p.m. on Sunday. At 2:30 p.m., the TV producers filmed several takes of the reveal before officially lifting the enormous curtain that was hiding the 12-foot tall mega-treat.

Above all, though, it was a big day for the community center.

“The community center is used heavily,” said community center board member Tom Reynolds. “This is a town that doesn’t see itself needing a community center, but we have 2,500 people touch the walls each week. The community came here and supported something for the community center.”

A number of La Cañada organizations and volunteers manned booths while the producers and creators of the TV show prepared the big reveal.

The program, called “Mega Bites,” will likely air on The Learning Channel in June, though the program hasn’t officially been picked up by the network.

The treat was weighed at the now-record 10,460 lbs. and inspected by a Guinness World Record official.

To balance costs for the center, a number of utilities and items used for the fundraiser were donated, including the supplies for the Rice Krispies treat, the booths and the food.

Food booths were hosted by Round Table, Los Gringos Locos, Jersey Mike’s and the La Cañada Flintridge Country Club, with all proceeds going directly to the center.

Likewise, Jazmine’s Spa and Salon offered mini manicures for children while Flintridge Family Chiropractic offered massages.

“The Community Center is a treasure of La Cañada Flintridge, anything I can do support them I’m happy to do,” said La Cañada resident Jack Schaedel. “Today has been a lot of fun for the kids.”

Schaedel brought his 3-year-old and 13-year-old sons to the event. Between the two of them, they covered every carnival tent, Schaedel said.

Carnival rides and games, like a bowling game, a dunk tank and a merry-go-round.

Among the bigger attractions was the dunk tank, wherein La Cañada High boys’ water polo players volunteered to be dunked.

“We got a few little kids in here and we didn’t think they’d be good,“ said La Cañada High freshman water polo player Bryce Hopkins. “We put them close to give them a fair chance and turns out they’re pretty good.”