Tourism Talk | Shaggers in North Myrtle Beach dance their way into the record books

It’s official: Shaggers who danced this fall in North Myrtle Beach have landed in the record books.

Organizers of the “Largest Carolina Shag Dance” received an e-mail last week from the Guinness World Records keepers confirming that the Sept. 24 attempt at the North Myrtle Beach Aquatics & Fitness Center was a success.

“I was so excited because we have been waiting since October,” said Anne Henry, a shagger from Jacksonville, Fla., who organized the record attempt during the Society of Stranders’ Fall Migration. “Every morning I would look at my e-mail.”

About 744 dancers participated – nearly three times the number needed to land in the record books. No one held the record for “Largest Carolina Shag Dance,” but Guinness World Records officials told organizers at least 250 shaggers had to dance in synchronized steps for at least five minutes to set the record. Henry compiled all the documentation of the event – videos, photos, paperwork – to submit to Guinness.

“It’s a great deal of work and effort,” Henry said.

The news came just in time for the shaggers’ mid-winter event in North Myrtle Beach, which kicks off Thursday. Some leftover T-shirts and photos from the record-setting event will be for sale in the S.O.S. Company Store off Ocean Boulevard, Henry said, adding that the shaggers will be celebrating their accomplishment next weekend.

“I mean, how many people do you know who are in the Guinness Book of World Records?” she said.

The shaggers’ record attempt was one of several along the Grand Strand last year. The shaggers were more successful than dancers who sought to set the record for the most people doing “The Twist” in Myrtle Beach during a spring festival. The attempt went bust after confusion erupted when Chubby Checker hit the stage, causing dancers to scurry out of the restricted record-setting area.

Beach was bustling for New Year’s

The final numbers released late last week confirm what Myrtle Beach businesses already figured: The Grand Strand had a solid end to 2011 and start to 2012.

Thanks in part to unseasonably nice weather with temperatures in the 60s and 70s, the beach lured better-than-usual post-Christmas crowds, especially those celebrating New Year’s last weekend.

Lodging occupancy Dec. 25-31 hit 34 percent, up 3.7 occupancy points or 12.3 percent compared to the same week in 2010, according to Coastal Carolina University’s Clay Brittain Jr. Center for Resort Tourism.

Occupancy jumped for the New Year’s weekend to 58.6 percent, up 12 occupancy points or 25.8 percent compared to the same weekend in 2010 and beating predictions of 40 percent to 45 percent occupancy, according to the tourism center.

Occupancy traditionally jumps a bit around New Year’s, but above 50 percent surprised some businesses.

Beach businesses have been buzzing about how busy the area was for New Year’s, sparking talk of a possible street party along Ocean Boulevard in Myrtle Beach to ring in 2013, similar to one that occurred there a few years ago. Businesses in downtown Myrtle Beach, some of which had to call in extra staff to cover the unexpected New Year’s rush, said the warm weather and the timing of the holiday during the weekend lured folks for a quick getaway.

But the winter doldrums are returning. Lodging occupancy was expected to be back down to about 15 percent this weekend.