A small army of volunteers will be needed for Winkler's record breaking harvest attempt August 4.

Harvest for Kids recently held a Volunteer Expo to outline the number of roles available. Commitment levels ranged from a few hours during the August 4 

event, to responsibilities during the weeks leading up to the harvest.

Coordinator George KIassen notes all volunteers will have the opportunity to watch the harvest as well.

The Winkler attempt hopes to attract 320 combines to break the record for most combines working on the same field simultaneously. The field is located south of Winkler off of Hwy 32. Klassen advises that the highway will be closed for safety regulations, with busses bringing people to the viewing location. Organizers will operate a fleet of 15 busses, 10 school busses and five church busses. He notes to "get there early" to get a seat on the bus, with designated parking lots in Winkler for pick-up and drop off.Available roles include bus drivers, concert security, field marshals, parking attendants, photographers, prayer team members, tractor drivers and VIP hosts.

In total, Klassen expects nearly 20,000 people in attendance, and many more via the online livestream.

The first record for fastest harvest was set in Westlock, Alberta in 1998. Eight years later, Harvest for Kids, together with Children's Camps International, came to Winkler, Manitoba with the Guinness World Records team in 2006. The new record was set with 100 combines simultaneously plowing 160 acres in just 11 minutes and 8 seconds. The requirements changed for the record to focus on how many combines can be working on one field at the same time for five continuous minutes. So this time, on August 7th, 2010, Harvest for Kids took another run at the record, South of Winkler, by putting 200 combines to work.

Fast forward to two years, 244 combines were set to work just north of Dalmeny, Saskatchewan on October 6th, 2012. Now, returning to Winkler, there will be an attempt to break the 2012 record

However, the event is more than bragging rights; organizers hope to raise $5 million to send one million kids to camp in the developing world through local charity, Children's Camps International.

To volunteer call 331-4003 or visit their website.