From Dorothy Wilhelm: Good Times in Pierce Country even though the days getting shorter. I still try to get out to walk for a mile or so during that last magical hour before sunset. If you’re looking for some free family activities you won’t do better than this fun list of 25 free things to do from Travel Tacoma. There’s just an amazing variety.
Now, here’s the girl you’ve been waiting for. Dr. Patt Schwab and her Red Letter Days:
Anti-Boredom Month
Each month bestows a different set of Birth Benefits upon those lucky enough to have been born then. Researchers tell us that those born in July have the Birth Benefits of being Most Generous and with a Stronger Work Ethic than those born in other months.
July
July brings out the need for festivities in folks.
July 2: Someday We’ll Laugh About This Week, begins
July 1: The annual World Championship Wife Carrying Race. This is held the 1st – 2nd of July in Finland. In the competition, husbands carry their wives over fences, through water, up hills, wherever it seems outrageous and difficult to do so.
July 2: Shout-out for more things to celebrate on July 2nd, 5th, and 6th — especially if one of those days is your birthday! Don’t let a big Non-Obscure Holiday, like July 4th, hog the attention for the rest of the month.
July 3: Explore Your Neighborhood Parks Day
July 3: World Bicycle Day — a great way to explore the parks referenced above.
July 4: According to the folks who research such things, this is the least popular date for a USA birthday — followed, in order of popularity, by December 24, 25, and January 1st. Should you not have noticed, what all these dates have in common is that they each are home to a variety of events and activities that distract from the average Birthday.
July 4: Boom Box Parade Day — for all those Boomers who still have Boom Boxes.
July 5: Bikini Day — Yeah, right. All that partying and eating on the Fourth, and you’re going to parade around in a bikini? Good Luck!
July 6: Take Charge of Change Week begins. Get on top of the changes in your life or simply count the loose change around the house. You decide.
July 6: International Kissing Day — Remember that a kiss isn’t only romantic — it’s a sign of affection that reminds people you care.
July 7: Father and Daughter Take a Walk Together Day
July 7: Global Forgiveness Day — Forgive people who have wronged you. Ask for forgiveness from people you have wronged.
July 7: Ducktona 500 Festival — An annual family festival in Sheboygan WI, with live music, food court, vendor midway, wonderful classic cars, Big Wheel races, pony rides, and more. It features an annual duck race as thousands of rubber ducks race down the Sheboygan River.
July 8: SCUD Day (Savor the Comic, Unplug the Drama)
July 8: Be a Kid Again Day
July 8: Math 2.0 Day — a celebration of math intermingling with technology
July 9: Great Circus Parade Week begins
July 9: Collector Car Appreciation Day
July 9: National Don’t Put All Your Eggs in One Omelet Day
July 9: Motorcycle Day
July 9: The World’s Largest Chicken Dance — put on by Wayne State College’s cheerleading squad. The annual event lasts all weekend and includes a variety of both real and rubber chicken activities.
July 10: Bald Is In Day
July 10: Teddy Bears Picnic Day — Celebrate one of the best toys ever invented. Take yours to school or work today and again for National Teddy Bear Day on September 11th.
July 11: Slurpee Day — Check out 7-Eleven. Today’s their birthday. You might get lucky and get a free Slurpee.
July 11: Cheer Up the Lonely Day
July 12: Celebrate Different Colored Eyes Day
July 12: Dolley Madison, born May 20, 1768 — She grew up to become the wife of James Madison, the third US President. Serving as White House hostess for the eight years her husband held office, allowed her to engage her interpersonal skills by bringing opposing sides together at dinners. As a gracious, much loved, first lady, she popularized the dessert of ice cream to the extent that her picture appeared on the packaging for it and for various other dairy products. She also showed up on china plates, in doll form, on cigar wrappers. Her name was even used to sell wine.
Among the many things she is remembered for, saving the portrait of George Washington, when the White House was on fire in 1814, is close to the top of the list. She died on this day in 1849.
July 12: Rolling Stones Debut at the Marquee Club, London (1962)
July 12: Paper Bag Day — A day celebrated globally every year to make people aware of how paper bags not only make shopping more convenient, they contribute to the fight against Climate Change and environmental pollution. They were originally manufactured commercially in Bristol, England, by Luther Childs Crowell, in 1844. In 1852, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania inventor, Francis Wolfe, patented a machine to make them in the USA.
It’s rarely noted that all of these bags were made envelope-style, with pointed bottoms. A significant change was made by child inventor, Margaret E. Knight. At age 12, she created a machine that produced paper bags, not with just square-bottoms, but with pleated sides to make them easier to fold and store. She was the first woman to be awarded a U.S. patent and ended her career with a total of 87 different patents.
July 13: Barbershop Music Appreciation Day
July 13: Chick-fil-A’s Cow Appreciation Day — Get a free Chick-fil-A breakfast, lunch, or dinner entree if you wear any cow attire.
July 13: Gruntled Workers Day — aka, the folks who are NOT “Disgruntled.”
July 14: National Ventriloquism Week begins
July 14: Richard McDonald, the U.S. fast-food pioneer, dies in 1998. Drive through and “salute” him at your closest McDonald’s today. (b. 1909)
July 14: International Nude Day — It’s difficult to believe that this is, dare I say, “Played Out” all over the world. The quote I found most accurate: “Nudism is the act of practicing nudity, or arguing for the right to do so.” The best “pro” argument I found was a reference to the resources saved by not doing laundry.
July 14: International Sister Cities Day — This is a non-profit group of 1,800 international cities, states and countries, promoting municipal co-operation, cultural understanding, and economic development. It’s nice to know groups like this are out there — and that they are headquartered in the USA.
July 15: Get to Know Your Customers Day — It can have a great pay-off!
July 15: National Be a Dork Day — To celebrate, you can “Ace” all your exams like a Dork would do, or just look weird, or do anything in-between.
July 15: National Give Something Away Day — Look in your closets, bookcases, drawers, the garage or that shed in the back yard. There’s bound to be something that others can use and you never will.
July 15: National I Love Horses Day — A day for equestrian lovers across the nation to celebrate by “Horsing Around.”
July 16: Celebration of the Horse Day: Yesterday you acknowledged you loved them. Today you need to celebrate it — perhaps in a show ring or on an afternoon trail ride.
July 16: Every Body Deserves a Massage Week begins
July 16: Sundae Sunday: Have you noticed that you can justify a Sundae almost any day in July?
July 17: Hemp History Week begins — I leave it up to the reader to personalize this holiday.
July 17: Disneyland’s Anniversary — This world of educational fantasy and fun, first opened in Anaheim, California on this day in 1955. Today it’s attracting over 18 million visitors a year spending literally billions of dollars. Currently the whole Disney company (which started several years earlier) is celebrating its 100th birthday. Stay alert for the celebration offers they will be presenting all year long.
July 18: Perfect Family Day — Celebrate your family perfection together today. If you aren’t living close to each other, celebrate on Zoom.
July 19: Make New Friends Day — Jan. 19 & Oct. 19, are also dedicated to this. It may have something to do with the number “19.” Or . . . with Hallmark creating “Friends Day” on July 19, 1919, in the hopes of selling cards in the quantities they are sold on Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. Apparently it worked so they expanded it a bit further.
July 19: Flitch Day — A “flitch” is a measurement of bacon, now known as a slab. In the 14th century England, married couples were awarded a flitch of bacon if they did not repent of their marriage for a year and a day. The couple would stand in a mock trial before monks to prove that they had been loving and faithful to one another for one year and did not wish they were single again. Funny how this tradition fell out of favor.
July 19: Stick Out Your Tongue Day — True story: Early during the COVID lock downs, a 5 year old was in front of me in a grocery store line. To make conversation, I asked him how he liked wearing a face mask.
His eyes lit up! “I Love It!” he said. “I can stick my tongue out at anyone and they don’t know it!” His mother and I both burst into laughter as we concluded that this little guy has a grand future ahead of him! At the time, none of us knew there was a real day (i.e. today) assigned for this activity.
July 20: International Chess Day – Today chess events and competitions are held around the world to celebrate the International Chess Federation (FIDE) which was founded on this day in 1924.
July 20: Fortune Cookie Day
July 20: National Ugly Truck Contest Day
July 20: International Ride a Mountain Bike Day — #RIDEMTBDAY It’s a great way to explore a foreign land!
July 20: World Jump Day — celebrated at 11:39.13 GMT, when millions of people from the Western Hemisphere jump simultaneously. It is “believed” that by doing the coordinated jump, the earth would be moved from its orbit into a new one, stopping global warming.
July 21: The lowest ever recorded Ground Level Temperature Day is July 21, 1983. It was measured in Antarctica at —89.2 C (−128.6 °F).
July 21: National Be Someone Day — Take 10 seconds to make a difference in the life of a child or a stranger — perhaps with a hug, a cup of coffee, a compliment, or helping them do something they are struggling with.
July 21: National Make a Craft for Your Local Animal Shelters Day. Use your skills or time to make a gift or help in some way at your local shelter.
July 21: National Junk Food Day — No need to explain what this day is for.
July 21: Take a Monkey to Lunch Day: Alas, we’re not talking about a real monkey here, but instead, today commemorates the famous Scopes Monkey Trial, where John Thomas Scopes, a Tennessee science teacher, was convicted of violating Tennessee law by teaching evolution in a public school. (Apparently what goes around, comes around.)
July 22: Casual Pi Day — Since Pi is a mathematical concept that denotes the relationship between a circle’s circumference and its diameter, this is your day to expand your circumference by eating lots of pie.
July 22: National Hammock Day — This wonderful symbol of relaxation was developed by the Mayan Indians of Central America. They were frequently made from the woven bark of Hamack Trees, hence
their name. Test one out today!
July 22: Spooner’s (Spoonerism) Day — Named after William Archibald Spooner, Spoonerisms are words were the letters or sounds are mixed up accidentally or on purpose, ie: “Is it kisstomary to cuss the bride?”
July 23: National Salad Week begins
July 23: Gorgeous Grandma Day
July 23: Hot Enough For Ya? Day
July 23: Sprinkle Day — Sprinkle something — your yard with water, your salad with something tasty, you take it from here.
July 23: Yada, Yada, Yada Day — A day for those with deep roots in the classic Seinfeld TV Show of old. If your roots don’t go deep enough, think of it as a substitute for “bla bla bla,” or ask someone older than yourself about the Show.
July 24: Amelia Earhart Day — The first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic. Honor her by doing something lofty today.
July 24: Cousins Day — Call a cousin today to reminisce about the old days.
July 24: Tell an Old Joke Day
July 24: National Day of the Cowboy
July 25: Auntie’s Day — Anyone you call “Auntie” should be acknowledged on this day — if she likes it, she’ll probably reward you with a smile – maybe more. If she doesn’t, you’ll know for the future.
July 25: Red Shoe Day — Wear them! Or buy them if you don’t have any. Wearing them will give you an “In” crowd feeling all day.
July 26: Aunt and Uncle Day— Ask them, or someone who knows them, to tell you something they did when they were your age.
July 27: Gary Gygax Day — Shout out “Happy Birthday!” to Gary, the co-creator of Dungeons and Dragons and several associated games and magazines. Gary was born on this day in 1938.
July 27: Bagpipe Appreciation Day
July 28: National Drive—Thru Day
July 30: Gallop to Inter-Tribal Indian Powwow July 30 — August 10
July 30: Health Care Now! — Medicare’s Birthday
July 30: International Day of Friendship
July 30: National Talk in an Elevator Day — You’re bound to get a laugh because jokes in elevators work on so many levels.
July 30: World Snorkeling Day — You never know who you’ll see down there on a day like this!
July 30: Comedy Celebration Day — Get with a couple friends, and celebrate the role comedy has played in your life, your favorite comedians, and shows, the best joke you told, the one that backfired, etc.
July 31: Mutt’s Day – If you don’t have a mixed breed mutt of your own, appreciate someone else’s.
