Final Fall Finale Weekend

Things are much quieter here this weekend, following our 4 big Halloween Weekends and Columbus Day. Looks like in 2010, since Halloween #4 will fall later (Oct 29-31), there will not be an added "event" weekend AFTER Halloween, meaning no "fall finale". While the water will still be on, once November rolls in, there are not enough campers to have the arcade, pillow and Grill open. In fact, I am a little worried about having enough Bingo players tonight at 8PM for our final Bingo of the season, as some folks might be out trick or treating...and there are not too many campers here to begin with this weekend. I will need to bring out the little TV to keep updated with game 3 of the Series. Have been working on many new projects, and will try to provide updates next week, such as a new Facebook Page (and eventually pages for the music festivals), a re-designed Strawberry Park website (should be unveiled by Nov 29), the 2010 calendar of events (Memorial Day happens late in 2010), and reservation plans for the early callers on November 30 (those enrolled in the BIC program). It does look pretty good for the water to remain on for 1 more weekend (Nov 6-8), but probably not much longer after that.

Pumkin Winners & Adult Costumes

More pumpkins than ever--notes below the photos

Congrats to the Adult Costume Contest Winners. Depsite the rain on Saturday night (which did not deter us from lighting the bonfire, or from having about 10 wackos join us on a wet and wild wagon ride), we had far more adult costumes this week than last week. Still considering having the adult costumes at the 5pm parade next year--offer your opinion on the poll. The pumpkin turnout was the biggest yet, as we needed a 4th table to display them all. Funny little aside regarding judging...I am one of the least artistic people I know, but I do have some creativity. Jen, on the other hand, is very artistic (and also creative--please don't think I have implied otherwise). When it comes to costumes for the kids, she put together a wonderful peanut butter and jelly outfit for her and the boys (and I was bread slice #2). She also dressed them as Rally Monkeys one weekend to support the Angels over my Yankees. However, the best she earned was an honorable mention, perhaps slightly because the judges knew who she was, and would not want to seem biased. Pumpkins are anonymous, so I explained her chances of winning would not be diminshed. She wound up submitting a carved and a painted, and received a 1st and a 2nd. The painted was a Peanuts scene with Linus and the Great Pumpkin (2nd) while her winning carved entry was the upside down Tootsie Pop with the "How many licks" owl. For the record, that pumpkin was my idea, but all the work was hers. When I got the list from the judges, I did not dare identify the artist by name--it may have been worse than when she wins at Bingo. Also, my apologies to the pumpkin announced as "Pumpkin Star" which was actually "Pumpkin Stu". That was entered by one of our campers who has been coming here since he was a hyper little kid who loved having water balloon battles with our Rec Staff. Now that he is in college, he still is one of the few people I know who is almost always smiling, and we look forward to seeing him and his family each summer. Brock exhibits that same mischievous smile, and I hope he turns out as well as all members of that family, which reminds me--congrats to Brian & Katie's brother Ed and his wife who recently had a baby girl (Mallory), making Eddie and Nancy grandparents for the first time.

Halloween Weekend #4 Costumes

A few photos from the parade, which remained dry.

Possible Preventitive Precipitation Precautions

With Saturday still being predicted as somewhat rainy (although less rain than was forecast a couple of days ago), we are looking at a few options to best protect the trick or treaters (aside from counting on the rain to cease from 5pm to 8pm). Option A: Construct a 77 acre retractable roof dome covering all campsites, allowing for rain-free travels from site to site. Unfortunately, preliminary cost estimates are between $2.5 and $3 billion dollars, with an estimated completion date of 2019...so unless we can get 200 families to book 10 years in advance and pay in full (just $10 million per site per weekend), construction will need to be delayed indefinitely. Option B: Do what you do on October 31 if it rains, which is put on your best smile and grab an umbrella if needed. While we can always move the costume parade/contest under the Rec Center, the trick or treating has little room for change, as Sunday morning just does not work (re-costuming, getting people up and about, Bingo etc). Be sure to join us for Bingo tonight (could be a little chilly), as well as Saturday's ceramics, Bingo, hypnosis show and haunted house tours. If there is rain, we will post a rainy day schedule, adding a few more activities under the covered Rec Center, since some things just can't happen in the rain (such as horseback riding).

New Halloween Contest Considered

As we head into our 4th Halloween Weekend, a few things are being considered for 2010, including conducting the adult costume contest during the main parade at the field. However, the most exciting may be the "Best Excuse for Cancelling the Day Before Arrival When Rain is Predicted but We Would Never Cancel Due to the Weather" Award. Looks like we may be in for some nominees this weekend. Two weeks ago, there were no nominees, as there were no cancels...because the forecast was fine, and no one became sick, and no relatives passed away. Last weekend's forecast brought out a few faxes and emails that are surefire finalists, including the elderly relative who is their constant companion who suddenly developed a greater risk of falling down. Tossing in scary medical jargon is always a winner, with the doctor's note that mentions a child's cough that "could show the characteristics of swine flu" (wouldn't a real physician use the more acceptable H1N1 terminology?). Again, the ambiguity is classic, as my sore knee could also show the potential for arthritis. However, in addition to the faxed obits for folks who passed away yet whose detailed obituary shows no connection to the party who cancel, there are the connectivity cancels...we have 4 sites reserved, and our friend's dog is sick and in need of constant care, so all 4 of our sites are cancelling, because we could not imagine camping without our friends. Last year's winner was the cancel call that was made on Thursday for a death in the family, with a Friday arrival planned (showers in forecast, of course). When politely asked to send a copy of the obituary whenever they have a chance (as it would not be available on the day cancelling, of course), they proceeded to fax an obit the following Wednesday. This would have been fine, but the person who died did not pass away until Sunday. I guess that must have been the first person from their town who died after they called to cancel on Thursday. This year's runner up, so far, is the family that called last Friday night at 7pm to cancel an RV rental that had been placed on their campsite. As there were no other MRV rentals available, we had to turn down the folks who called on Wed & Thur to get a rental instead of coming in a pop-up. Not only did they fail to understand the cancel policy, they wanted a full refund...and would not settle for a future credit. And now...drum roll please...the current leader of the 2009 "Epstein's Mother" Excuse Awards (in honor of Kotter's classic notes signed by her) is for the family who cancelled the day before arrival last weekend with the following note faxed in after the weekend (I will not disclose the name, for fear of violating patient/client laws, nor will I note the "Dr" who provided the note, for fear that he would be laughed out of his profession): "As the family therapist for the ****** family, I am writing to confirm that the family was dealing with an unforseen stressor and was unable to travel." It goes on to explain that hopefully, this letter is sufficient in getting them a refund. Unforseen stressor? Yeah, the crappy forecast!!! On the original notes regarding their call to cancel, medical causes were mentioned. I am guessing that the family practitioner and OB-GYN probably denied their request to provide a letter. Good news is that it looks warmer this weekend than last, and while Friday is looking good (and Sunday), they are still calling for rain on Saturday. Here's hoping that they are just as accurate as they were last weekend.

Haunted Hall open for 1 more Saturday

With our 4th Halloween Weekend upon us, the Haunted Hall will be open for one last Saturday. For those who have not been through it, you have no idea what is involved. This is not a hokey little room that is thrown together in a day or two. Our hall is a multi-chambered series of rooms, with a variety of scary features. It takes the crew of Chuck, Mark and others almost a full month to design and build (and will take almost as long to dismantle and pack it all away). In addition to the construction, the haunted hall is staffed by over 20 people each week. This year, we have had some local high school students assist in the coverage. The Griswold Student Council helped out on week 1 and week 3, with assitance from GHS's Terri Cholewa. The 2nd week featured the drama club and their teacher, Tim Moore (they are presenting Cyrano this fall). This coming week will be staffed by members of the chamber choir and Ray Churchill, so don't be surprised if your guide breaks out in song (I believe that the spring musical is The Sound of Music, but I may be wrong...and they always do a tremendous job). Lastly, a big thanks to the Preston City Fire Department and Chief Casey for guiding us through the complex process of fire codes for special events, and for providing an on-site firefighter to supervise the operation on Saturday. For those who think the Haunted Hall is not scary and is meant for the little ones, just watch how many people wind up backing out after seeing the first room (Jackie makes an excellent execution victim, although she claims she didn't do the crime). Join us on Saturday, and we encourage morning visits when the lines are shorter.

Thanks to the camping die-hards

A big thank you to all those campers who were not scared off by the weekend forecast...hope you enjoyed what turned out to be a pretty good weekend of weather. It is always debatable how effective (or tactful) it is to throw out an "I told you so", but you kind of have to hope that the kids of the parents who cancelled this past weekend due to the forecast drove their parents just a little crazy on Saturday with whines of "How come we didn't go camping? It is not even going to rain at all!! You are so unfair and wimpy...you ruined my image of Halloween for the rest of my life, and I won't ever let you forget it." (OK, so maybe that last one is a bit extreme). Guess what the long term forecast for this coming Saturday looks like? Showers, of course. All part of the unspoken conspiracy between a pair of local businesses that benefit from rainy weekend predictions (won't mention any names, but they are really big, and spend lots of money advertising) and the TV stations/weathermen of this region. Example of converation between Ma & Pa at dinner on Tuesday night. Ma: So, you still want to go to the (insert any of the following outdoor activities...campground, fair, corn maze, fall festival etc etc) this weekend? Pa: I dunno, Dr. Mel (or insert any of the other meteorological names, be it Brad F or Scott H) promises heavy rain on Saturday. Pa: You know, he may be right. Why don't we just cancel our outdoor planned activities and instead do something indoors, where you never know if it raining (or whether it is day or night, for that matter). Ma: Sounds good...give me a few minutes to empty little Billy's piggy bank of all the quarters. I know some of you are now saying to yourself "Geez Dave, you have been awfully tough on the poor weathermen lately." And I guess you are right. Don't get me wrong--I am a weather fanatic, but I have come to accept forecasts on the nightly news with Geoff Fox and others as what the really are...pure entertainment. Sort of like accepting Pro Wrestling for what it is...no actual connection to real life, but often entertaining nonetheless.

More Photos From Yesterday's Costume Parade

Pumpkin Contest Winners

Congrats to the Pumpkin Contest Winners, as "Chicken & Egg" was 1st carved, "Pineapple" was 1st decorated, "Pink Fish" and "HW Around the World" were 2nds, while Honorable Mentions were earned by Mr. Halloween, White Collar Criminal, Babe the Pig and Painted Witch.

Costume Photos...more to follow

Here are a few photos of some of the great costumes...more will be posted later, as 2 cameras were being used (had some battery issues with the first one). Congrats to all the winners!