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Market
Your Programs By Celebrating Untraditional Holidays
By
Silvana Clark
Visit
any Parks and Recreation facility during March and you’ll see green Shamrocks
and St. Patrick’s Day events taking place. During October, community centers
across the country celebrate Halloween. Nothing newsworthy about that.
Have
you considered celebrating National Bubble Wrap Day or International Puzzle Day
as a unique way to attract the media’s attention? Let’s face it. Your local
paper or TV station has no reason to cover your Easter Egg Hunt when several
other community groups also are sponsoring egg hunts. Celebrating unique and
untraditional holidays provides a news worthy event for the media. For example,
on March 21st, your local newspaper features reporter probably
doesn’t have too much to cover. However, if you are celebrating National
Teenagers Day…now that’s a story. You could honor teenagers who volunteer in
the community or sponsor an all-teen skating party. How about sponsoring a
contest and teenagers could win pizza parties for their friends? Go for a
Guinness World Record like having the most teenagers play air guitars or blow
bubbles at the same time.
You
can attract reporter’s attention by celebrating National Kid’s Craft Day on
March 14, sponsored by S&S Worldwide. Don’t just make some paper bag
puppets. How about having kids help construct a six foot papier mache dinosaur?
Get a salmon and have kids decorate T-shirts making fish prints. Buy some
biodegradable packing peanuts from an office supply store. These packing
peanuts, made from cornstarch, create incredible sculptures. Simple dab a peanut
on a damp cloth, and then touch another peanut. The moisture helps them bind
together instantly. One Parks and Rec day celebrated Kid’s Craft Day by having
staff wear swimsuits. Kids used washable markers to “decorate” the staff
bodies. Now that’s a front page picture for the newspaper! For more craft
ideas, check out www.ssww.com
So
often, parks and Recreation staff complain because “the TV station never
covers our Valentine’s Day carnival” Look at your event from the media’s
perspective. They want events that are different and will get viewers attention.
As Park and Rec professionals, you are in a perfect position to plan some events
that attract media attention and get you more participants.
Here
are a few other holidays to celebrate:
March
22, National Goof Off Day: Stage an event where people goof off with Crazy
Olympics, nailing Jell-O to trees and learning useless skills.
April
6, National Twinkie Day: Play floor hockey with frozen Twinkies!
April
25, National Penguin Day: Have all staff dress in Black and white. Conduct
“waddle” races at local businesses and award prizes to person who best
waddles like a penguin.
June
19, Butterfly Day: Invite the community to help plant a small garden with
butterfly-attracting plants such as Queen Anne’s Lace, yarrow or snapdragons.
Get more information on www.butterflies.com
The
holidays never end! Donald Duck’s Birthday is June 9th, the third
week in July is National Avoid Boredom week, and don’t forget National Mustard
Day on the first Saturday in August.
Take
advantage of slow news day by celebrating untraditional holidays. The community
will take notice of your creative programming ideas and the media will soon be
asking you, “What wacky holiday are you celebrating next?”
Resources:
Naturally
I’m partial to the book Every
Day A Holiday, (by Silvana Clark) which gives activities, craft
and food ideas for over 320 holidays. Available at major book stores and on
Amazon.com
Chases
Calendar of Events lists thousands of holidays, anniversaries and special
events.
www.chases.com
END
Silvana
has been active in the recreation and leisure field for over 25 years. When she
began her career, it was common to use asbestos powder to make papier mache! A
frequent speaker at national and state conferences, Silvana presents workshops
on innovative marketing techniques as well as programming ideas.
www.silvanaclark.com
silvanac@msn.com
253-759-1052