Team Blue tugs the Camp into August at last Friday’s games celebrating the start of the second half of the season. (Photo by Dana DeRuvo)
By Hugh O’Brien
Halfway through the summer already, but now’s the time when the best is yet to come. So, time to beset you with the best, in chronological order….
This Friday, Aug. 5, it’s the first Saltaire Stuffy Parade. No, this is not a reference to our recent weather or the personalities of the Board of Trustees, but rather one of our favorite things – stuffed animals. Molly is organizing teams of wagons decorated by the campers, with each camper invited to bring a stuffed animal to ride along on their wagon. Starting at 11:30 a.m., the procession embarks from the field’s Neptune Walk entrance, winds its way along Bay Prom and concludes at the Broadway gate. Sort of like the opening of “Death Valley Days” except with stuffed animals instead of borax. Yet another example of Molly’s imagination and inventiveness so loved by the kids. I was going to put my stuffed Godzilla on a wagon but he’s otherwise occupied that day smashing Toronto.
Next day, Saturday, Aug. 6, the SCA sponsors the Artisan Fair, with local craftspeople displaying and hopefully selling their crafts, amid music and “festive” – what else? – “lunch offerings on the Market deck.” Straddling lower (or is it upper?) Broadway, from gazebo to field, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The day is capped by the bay picnic from 6 to 9 p.m. Bring your own food, drink, wagons, chairs, blankets, towels, glasses, plates, silverware and napkins. The SCA provides the rest! Plus, the best free sunset on the planet.
Alas, SCA’s previously announced volleyball tournament has been postponed until a later orbit, owing to a deficit of – really – volleyballs. Deflating news, perhaps, but something to look forward to during those long winter nights when you’re stuck watching ping-pong.
Perlberger! Cup! Put ‘em together and you’ve got Perlberger Cup, the pearl of Saltaire’s summer sporting scene. Ralph is busily organizing his 23rd annual, playing Saturday, Aug. 13 and Sunday, Aug. 14. Register Saturday from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. (that’s not how long it takes, it’s your window of opportunity), pay the $10, and present a notarized affidavit attesting that you’re male or female 13 and/or over. Teams and schedules posted at 10:30 a.m. Speaking of windows of opportunity, these do not include the ones in St. Andrew’s, so aim your kicks accordingly.
Finally, on Saturday, Aug. 20, Saltaire’s unofficial historian, Jim O’Hare, will give one of his hugely popular and seldom-held talks on the village’s lesser-known history. This time, Jim’s topic is “In Rem We Trust 1910-1965: How Saltaire’s Original Deeds, Storms, and Massive In Rem Tax Foreclosures Shaped the History of the Village and the Making of Modern Saltaire.” Sound dry and dusty? Think again: it’s absolutely riveting, as those of us who’ve received a preview and several rivets can attest. Highly recommended, especially to those who’ve only recently arrived in town and wonder how they lucked into this place. The Library, tentatively at 11:30 a.m.
