What to Celebrate July 22 to 28, 2019
Celebration Ideas for July 22 – 28, 2019
As we head into the home stretch of July the heat’s hanging on here. (And on Tuesday we even have permission to ask if it’s hot enough for ‘ya!).
But heat or no heat there’s moths to document, vanilla ice cream to eat, and stilts to master. We also raise awareness of various medical conditions, honor the cowboy, and celebrate Amelia Earhart’s birthday. Plus much more, of course!
So jump right in to take a peek and plan your week. And remember to …
Enjoy!
Celebrate All for the rest of July
July celebrates lots of outdoor fun & delicious, summery foods. But it also has a serious side, as it’s also the month to raise awareness of some medical conditions. So while you’re enjoying your warm-weather fun, why not also take a little time to learn more about some of these conditions & help spread the word.
Fragile X Awareness Month: This genetic condition can cause a variety of intellectual and behavioral problems, along with certain physical characteristics. Start your learning journey here.
Hemochromatosis Screening Awareness Month: Hemochromatosis is more common than once believed. And it often takes a long time to get diagnosed because lots of other conditions cause the same symptoms. But it’s important to get diagnosed because without treatment hemochromatosis can cause much bigger problems.
Juvenile Arthritis Awareness Month: Think arthritis is only for old people? Think again! Arthritis certainly much more common in “senior citizens,” but kids can and do get it too. It’s usually a different form, caused by an autoimmune issue.
International Group B Strep Awareness Month: This month highlights the danger of Group B Strep in newborns. The GBS bacteria can live in a woman’s vagina, usually harmlessly. But they can also cause miscarriage or infect a newborn, causing serious complications like sepsis or meningitis. It’s important for all pregnant women to know about this so they can protect their babies.
Weekly Celebrations for July’s 4th Week
This week we honor & thank zoo keepers and go looking for moths while eating lots of garlic & swatting at mosquitoes … or something like that. At any rate, celebrate whatever way works for you!
National Zoo Keeper Week (July 21 – 27, 2019): Zoo keepers are more than just “baby-sitters” of zoo animals. They’re animal care professionals who work hard to keep their animals happy & healthy while also promoting conservation of those animals in the wild. These dedicated, passionate people deserve recognition and thanks!
National Moth Week (July 20 – 28, 2019): Become a citizen scientist for a week & help collect data to help scientists study moths! Choose one or more organizations to submit your moth sightings to & register an account if necessary. Then take pictures of moths you see during the week, and submit them. It’s fun and easy! Even if you don’t want to collect moth sightings, at least learn more about them for the week.
Gilroy Garlic Festival (July 26 – 28, 2019): Gilroy, California is the place for garlic lovers to be for 3 days of garlicky fun & feasting. Can’t make it to the festival? Celebrate in spirit by using garlic liberally for all your meals.
The Great Texas Mosquito Festival (July 25 – 27, 2019): It’s probably a good thing the garlic festival & mosquito festival are happening in different states, ‘cause mosquitoes aren’t too fond of garlic! Although we’re pretty sure this festival is more about good food, music, and tons of fun than actually celebrating mosquitoes … despite the festival’s 26-foot tall mosquito mascot, Willie-Man-Chew.
Celebration Days coming up for July 22 thru July 28
Every day this week is filled with deliciousness, from penuche fudge and chili dogs to tequila and scotch.
But of course that’s not all. We get some exercise along with our plants, relax in a hammock, and raise our voices for peace. Plus much, much more. All virtually guaranteed to make your week a fun-tastic one!
July 22:
Rat Catcher’s Day: Celebrate the Pied Piper of Hamelin for this day! Or memorialize the children he led away from their homes on this day hundreds of years ago. Yes, the Pied Piper is a myth, but some tragedy did apparently befall the children of Hamelin. And if you know any actual, modern-day rat catchers, thank them for the valuable service they perform!
Casual Pi Day: Also called Pi Approximation Day because the date (written with the day first, 22/7) is the short value of pi we use for “quick & dirty” calculations when we don’t need to be too exact. Because 22/7 = 3.14 or pi. Have 3.14 pies to celebrate! Or maybe 3.14 slices of pie would be a better option. And yes that’s completely doable, because pie doesn’t have to be sweet. Quiche is a kind of pie, so have that for breakfast. And pot pies, shepherd’s pie, & many others also count! But do make at least one slice a sweet pie.
Spooners Day: This day pays tribute to the Reverend William Archibald Spooner who had a habit of misspeaking. He would transpose parts of different words (or even whole words) often being unintentionally funny. This type of verbal mistake became known as a spoonerism. Here’s a list of spoonerisms to make you giggle. And a few by Dr. Spooner himself.
National Penuche Fudge Day: On this day we enjoy the creamy, mapley flavor of fudge made with brown sugar, vanilla, butter, and milk. It’s also called brown sugar fudge. Make a pan to celebrate the day, or buy some from your favorite candy shop. Mmmmm …
National Hammock Day: If you’ve ever thought about hanging a hammock for a peaceful escape right in your own yard, now’s the time to do it! Because how else will you be able to celebrate this day?
July 23:
National Vanilla Ice Cream Day: It’s another ice cream day for July! And we deserve as much cool creaminess as we can get these days. So scoop up a big dish or cone of this versatile ice cream flavor and top it any way you like.
Gorgeous Grandma Day: This day celebrates all women over 40 (being an actual grandma not required!). Alice Solomon created this day in 1984, when she was 50 and had just graduated from college. She wanted a way to show that older women were still vital, interesting, and useful, an opinion many people around her didn’t seem to share at the time. So if you’re an “older” woman, go out & be your gorgeous self!
Hot Enough For Ya Day: On this day you have permission to be “that person.” You know the ones, those people who try to be funny by asking if it’s “hot enough for ya” on the hottest days of the year! Tom & Ruth Roy decided we needed one day when this phrase is completely acceptable.
July 24:
National Drive Thru Day: Hit the drive thrus for this day! But not just for food. Any place you need to go that has a drive thru, use it! The bank. The pharmacy. Even the wedding chapel if you’re so inclined!
National Tell an Old Joke Day: This is the day to annoy all your friends with lame jokes! But not just any lame jokes. Old jokes. You must tell only old jokes on this day. And no, they don’t have to be lame. But let’s face it, most of them are! Especially when you’ve heard them over & over & over …
National Amelia Earhart Day: On this day we celebrate the birth of Amelia Mary Earhart in 1897. This fascinating woman was the first woman to to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. Of course she’s probably best known for disappearing during a solo flight around the globe. Why not learn more about her accomplishments for this day?
National Tequila Day: Enjoy tequila your way for this day. Whether you prefer to sip it, slam a shot, or use it in a cocktail, you’ll be celebrating right. So invite some friends over to celebrate with you, or head out to your favorite bar. (Just be sure everyone has a safe ride home!). This day is different from Mexico’s National Tequila Day in March.
July 25:
National Refreshment Day: Despite the name, this day is all about one particular kind of refreshment: Beer! Preferably craft beer, since the day’s founder, Traveler Beer Company, was a craft beer brewer. The Traveler brand apparently ended last year, but that’s no reason not to celebrate such a refreshing day! So grab your favorite craft beer & raise a toast to the day’s creators, gone but not forgotten.
National Chili Dog Day: That beer will go great with your chili dog. We’re not sure if it’s a coincidence that National Refreshment Day and Chili Dog Day are both on the 4th Thursday in July, but if it is, it’s quite the lucky fluke! So get yourself your favorite chili dog to go with your beer and have a refreshingly messy (you can’t eat a chili dog neatly, can you?!) meal.
National Wine and Cheese Day: And if beer & chili dogs just aren’t your thing, maybe you’d prefer to celebrate this day. Get some friends together, open a few bottles of wine & everybody favorite cheeses. Then see which ones go together best. If you’d like to pre-plan for some good pairings, learn a bit more about wine & cheese pairing here.
National Hot Fudge Sundae Day: Make sure you leave room for dessert after all your chili dogs & beer or wine & cheese. Because you wouldn’t want to miss the hot fudge sundae! Head out to your favorite ice cream shop or make a classic hot fudge sundae yourself. This recipe has you making everything, including the ice cream, yourself. But if that’s a bit much for you we understand! At least make the hot fudge & whipped cream. They’re super simple!
July 26:
One Voice Day: Raise your voice for peace at 6 pm UTC.
National Get Gnarly Day: On this day we get gnarly. In a good way. Whirlpool (yes, Whirlpool!) created this day a few years ago after an internal initiative to get employees “excited about reaching goals and satisfying customers” got rave reviews. So the company decided to encourage gnarliness in the rest of us. Why not look for a new ambitious challenge for your own life on this day?
National Bagelfest Day: On this day we eat bagels! All different kinds of bagels with all different kinds of toppings. Or just your favorite bagels with you favorite toppings. It’s all up to you. This day apparently grew out of a free bagel breakfast Murray Lender held for the town of Mattoon, IL (where Lender’s Bagels had just opened a factory) in 1986. That breakfast also spawned the Mattoon Bagelfest, a multi-day festival. It happens in July but doesn’t necessarily coincide with this day.
National Coffee Milkshake Day: Have a coffee milkshake with your bagel! Seriously, is there any better way to start the day when it’s already hot at 7 am? No, no there is not! Here’s a supremely simple coffee milkshake recipe (with cocoa, but you can leave that out if you prefer … but why would you?!).
National Aunt and Uncle’s Day: Celebrate your aunts & uncles if you’re lucky enough to have them! If you can get them all together for an Aunt & Uncle’s Day party, do it! But at least call to tell them how much they mean to you.
July 27:
Take Your Houseplants for a Walk Day: You and your houseplants deserve fresh air & sunshine. And what better way to get those than with a walk? Take your plants with & you all benefit! Or something like that …
National Day of the Cowboy: Honor the American cowboy’s hard-working, honest spirit for this day.
National Walk on Stilts Day: We sure do hope you’ve got good balance! Because for this day you must spend your day walking on stilts. So apparently you’ll be taking your houseplant for a walk on stilts! Did you know in 19th century France some people did just that? Spend the day on stilts, that is (not walk their plants!). The area where they lived was so marshy they needed the stilts to get around and to do pretty much any outdoor tasks!
National Scotch Day: After a long, hard day walking on stilts you deserve to relax with a good scotch. And lucky for you, it’s National Scotch Day! You’re welcome.
National Creme Brulee Day: You also deserve a cool, creamy custard with a crunchy, caramelized sugar topping. If you’re going out to eat, make sure you choose a place that offers creme brulee for desert! Or make some creme brulee yourself. It’s not hard, but there is a few hours of cooling time involved, so plan ahead!
July 28:
Buffalo Soldiers Day: Commemorate the army’s first African-American regiments for this day. These segregated Army regiments existed from 1866 until 1951.
National Milk Chocolate Day: Eat milk chocolate. Need we say more? Indulge in your favorite milk chocolate bar or drizzle melted milk chocolate over popcorn, ice cream, or whatever else your milk chocolate-loving heart desires!
National Waterpark Day: Head to a waterpark day for a day filled with laughter &excitement. Or, if you’re more of a lazy river type, relaxation. These parks have something for everyone, so you really have no excuse not to go if there’s one nearby!
World Hepatitis Day: On a much less fun note, this day raises awareness of hepatitis and all the people who are infected but don’t know it. Hundreds of millions of people may be unknowingly living with this viral infection. Could you or someone you love be one of them?
