Jester’s Fun Factory in Fergus has a 42,000 jigsaw puzzle waiting to be completed.
The puzzle is over 21 feet long and 5 feet tall and according to the manufacturer Educa it is the largest puzzle in the world.
The pieces are displayed on a board in the centre of the store where guests are welcome to gather around and begin solving.
“It comes in seven bags. Each bag is 6,000 pieces. When we get a new bag, it gets dumped onto the board,” says Jester's co-owner Evelyn Gould.
Gould says that many people take a break during their day and come to "puzzle." She says there are a lot of regulars that come in and form friendships just by spending time together on this gigantic piece.
“It just challenges you. I enjoy it. It's kind of relaxing and frustrating at the same time. More relaxing,” says Dave Patrick, a puzzle participant.
Guests who solve even as little as one piece can sign a guest book for the puzzle.
As of Feb. 1 242 have worked on the puzzle.
The puzzle illustrates different monuments across the globe, hence the name, Around the World.
For a town with a population of 20,000 people, that's more than two puzzle pieces per person in Fergus. However, this puzzle isn't only for the people in Fergus. It's open to everyone.
“We have a video on our Facebook page of a 98-year-old woman that came up from Burlington. And she came up to work on the puzzle,” says Gould.
Jester’s Toy Store has seen age groups from four to 98 working on this gigantic piece.
“Kids wanna get a piece in so bad. Sometimes we have to help them a little bit, but when they get that piece in they're like ‘I got a piece in!’ and then they write their name in the book,” says Gould.
Gould says seeing the community support is really neat because people want to be part of something so unusual.
Jester's completed a large puzzle in the year 2016 that was 18 feet long, 33,600 pieces and took 19 weeks to complete. It is now mounted up on the ceiling beside Around the World’s designated spot.
“I believe this one will be done in less than 12 weeks,” says Gould.
Gould says the store is also encouraging participants to bring a donation for the Centre Wellington Food Bank just to make it more of a community project and extend the good spirit.
