fun, strange holidays grouped by month

August 15 is Taffy Sculpting Day

taffy sculpting dayToday is Taffy Sculpting Day on the boardwalk in Ocean City, NJ. It is the first competition in the city’s annual Weird Week.

According to organizers, today’s “wacky, but not tacky” contest challenges participants to build a work of art from saltwater taffy. One year, an entrant modeled a Ferris wheel from the candy.

Tuesday is French Fry Sculpting Day. Potato Elvis has been a fan favorite in the past.

“That’s the Way the Cookie Crumbles” Contest takes place on Wednesday. Unsurprisingly, artists’ material consists of a giant cookie.

Can there be any losers when you get to eat your mistakes?

Also on Wednesday is the “Ears Looking at You” Contest, an attempt to revive the dying art of ear wiggling.

Thursday is Paper Clip Sculpting Day. (Note: don’t eat your mistakes.)

On Friday, the Miss and Mister Miscellaneous Pageant welcomes those who’ve always wanted to be in a talent show but missed out or didn’t make the cut. Age groups are 5 and under, 6 to 8, 9 to 12, teens and adults.

Also on Friday, the Little Miss and Little Mister Chaos Pageant invites children from 3 to 5 years old to sit on a stage and make as much noise as they can by banging pots and pans together, with rock music urging them to greater effort. (Pots and pans are provided.)

We’re guessing the creator of that last contest won’t be too popular with parents when their kids want to recreate the fun at home.

Have a Happy Taffy Sculpting Day and a wonderfully Weird Week!

Copyright 2016 Worldwide Weird Holidays

August 13 is TugFest

Today is the 30th annual TugFest. In 1987, residents of Port Byron, Illinois, and LeClaire, Iowa, decided it would be fun to have a tug-of-war. They didn’t let the fact that the towns are separated by the Mississippi River get in their way.

tugfest 2016

Preparing for the heave-ho on the Iowan side

tugfest 2016

The tradition continues today with 11 teams of 20 tuggers on either side of 2700 feet of rope, vying each year for bragging rights and custody of the trophy, an alabaster statue of an eagle in flight.

Traffic on the Mississippi River is halted for the duration of the competition, which is sponsored by local businesses and benefits kids’ clubs and charities.

Other events taking place this weekend include a parade, food vendors, 5K run, carnival rides on both sides of the river and one big fireworks display on Friday night.

More than 35,000 people are expected to attend this year.Whether you’re participating or just enjoying watching the fun, have a happy TugFest!

Copyright 2016 Worldwide Weird Holidays

National Flip Flop Day

national flip flop dayNational Flip Flop Day is a holiday invented by the U.S. national restaurant chain Tropical Smoothie Café. On the third Friday of June, from 2 pm to 7 pm local time, every customer wearing flip-flops will receive a free Jetty Punch Smoothie.

From 2007 to 2020, Tropical Smoothie Café customers donated $ 7.5 million for Camp Sunshine in Casco, Maine. There, children with life-threatening illnesses and their families can have fun while surrounded by professionals devoted to their emotional and medical support.

Tropical Smoothie Café now partners with No Kids Hungry. While you enjoy your smoothie, why not donate the money you save to a worthy cause?

Happy National Flip Flop Day!

P.S.: In 2009, two New York Daily News reporters wore flip-flops for four days, then had them swabbed. The lab tests found fecal bacteria, Aerococcus viridans, Rothia mucilaginosa, and Staphylococcus aureus, among other organisms. So after you get home, take those things off and wash your feet!

Share this:

May 28 is Julia Pierpont Day

Today is Julia Pierpont Day, named in honor of the woman who originated Decoration Day. julia pierpont day

In 1866, Julia Pierpont, wife of the Governor of  Virginia, noticed that the graves of Civil War soldiers in Richmond’s cemeteries looked neglected.

She started Decoration Day to show respect for those who had given their lives by tending to their final resting places.

Decoration Day provided the inspiration for Memorial Day. It takes place every year on the Saturday before the federal holiday. In 2005, it was proclaimed an official holiday in West Virginia.

Happy Julia Pierpont Day, Decoration Day, and Memorial Day!

Share this: