They call Wednesday “Hump Day,” which superficially sounds pretty raunchy until you analyze its meaning. But if such a ridiculous concept can be applied to summers, the Fourth-of-July weekend would probably qualify as the seasonal hump.
While it’s far from halfway, every year, it seems that once it’s been and gone, the summer starts to pick up speed – but with the saving grace, there’s more stuff to entertain you along the way. So let the sun slide south, heralding fall. Right now, high temps, warm seas, piercing hot sand, and a boatload of activities, some not even involving boats, are around to fill the best days of the year.
First, if you’re reading this late on the afternoon of publication day (July 5), there’s still time to flee to the Broadway oceanfront to attend the revelries afoot at Saltaire’s annual beach party bonfire. There’ll be plenty of driftwood on site and experts standing by to spray bottles of lighter fluid to keep things ablaze hence, there’s no incentive whatsoever to add to the conflagration by consigning this good paper to the flames.
On the subject of conflagrations, make note to make way for the SVFC’s Fourth-of-July parade, which, in keeping with tradition, marches three weeks later – this year, Sunday, July 21, at or about 11 a.m. The passing parade with its unsurpassed band is expected to follow the traditional Broadway-Bay-Atlantic-Lighthouse-Neptune-Bay again-Broadway again route, so if you can follow that, then follow them, walk to the walk, root en route and get ready to queue at the old HQ, whither the freebies await.
The SCA is doing its bit to punctuate the remainder of the month with many of their much-anticipated, exceedingly popular, frequently annual events, preludes to an even busier August.
Tomorrow, July 6, local artisans will use the Sandcastle Contest as a template to fashion structures as elaborate as they are seaworthy against the encroaching waves. The following weekend, the Sea & Sand Festival will wash in on a two-day tide, July 13 and 14, while the month comes to a fruitful finis with Captain Al’s Watermelon Party July 28. Now, the real Captain Al Skinner’s birthday was actually August 27, an occasion back when where the community’s kids inhaled thick slices of watermelon while grown-ups imbibed tall glasses filled with Al’s preferred liquid supper. Of course, in that era all adults were required to be accompanied by an underage child. But, time and tide move on, and while late August was once an integral part of summer, today it’s replaced mid-September as the away-time for school, sports and shutting off your water. Still, as Al would doubtless agree as he pilots the old Fire Islander toward a perpetually setting sun, better to be remembered a month early than not at all, and besides, the watermelon is probably riper.
