Staff reports

The Rochester Lilac Festival opened with a bang by setting a world record.

On May 2, 2,250 people in England made a human poppy, setting a Guiness Book of World Records mark for the largest human flower.

On Friday in Rochester, 2,297 people gathered to form a giant lilac to break the record.

People interested in contributing to the record-breaking flower gathered on an unusually hot Friday morning and wore one of the assigned purple, green or pink ponchos. They were told to stand in an assigned area to make the flower and hold it for five minutes so a helicopter above could document it.

Later on Friday, the 1980s popular rock band Duke Jupiter will help people celebrate the record. Duke Jupiter will play a full set on the main stage at 7 p.m. Local reggae band Noble Vibes plays at 4 p.m.