Yesterday, Christine went to the North Pole (our town's ice cream stand) for an ice cream cone and brought it home. Excited to consume her first ice cream cone for the early summer season, Christine entered her home to be welcomed by our curious young boy who had never had an ice cream cone before. Christine let him have a taste...which became another taste...which became another...
Well, needless to say, she didn't get an opportunity to enjoy as much of her ice cream as she have anticipated.
Chittenango is the birth place of L. Frank Baum (1856-1919), author of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. When your only claim to fame is to be the former hometown of a guy who wrote a book 108 years ago, obviously the best way to bring people into your town for festivities is to have a weekend festival in honor of said author. Thus, OzStravaganza came to be.
Festivities kicked off on Friday with a local fireworks show. Christine had fun going to the fireworks with some of the other girls from the neighborhood...followed by an evening of wine and spirits on our deck until two o'clock in the morning.
The following day was the parade that included local floats, 4 of the 5 "still alive" munchkins from the The Wizard of Oz, and a bassett hound brigade (they called the waddle walk). In the center of town were a variety of carnival games and activities as well as a petting zoo.
Granted, OzStravaganza may be a ridiculously cheesy and easily mocked concept, but it is really cool for the kids, and Austin genuinely enjoyed himself...especially at the petting zoo and the "bounce house".
