Everyone should be proud of their heritage; even clowns.
Wow it’s already that time of year when clowns get to celebrate their history for a whole week! For those not aware, in 1971 President Nixon himself made a proclamation that the first of August through the seventh of August was to be recognized as National Clown Week. This is an opportunity for clown alleys through our great states and beyond to share the good news and history of clowning.
How do you celebrate?
In my neck of the woods the Clowns Around Redford love to celebrate clown week with various activities, some have even become a tradition in town. We have put on free shows at local libraries and community centers featuring classic clown skits, magic and juggling. We make visits to nursing homes where we sing songs, tell funny stories and just visit with the residence to show them some love.
We also love to go out in our clown gear and do normal people activities like bowling, miniature golf or even ride go carts! Now mind you, we didn’t say we behaved normally while doing them. People have the best time seeing a bunch of clowns out and about having fun doing an activity that is not normal for someone dressed as a clown.
One of our activities that has become a huge tradition in our area is building a 50 foot Banana split. That’s right, we have about a dozen clowns scooping out ice cream, drizzling toppings and squirting it all down with whipped cream. The ice cream shop where we hold this event sells tickets the week leading up to the event and those with a ticket get a cup of this delicious frozen delight. This has become so huge that it is typically sold out prior to the day we construct the banana split. The proceeds go to a different local charity each year that is selected by the shop owner. This event is so big that the local papers contact the shop every year for the date so they can be there for the show.
Other similar events go on through the week where we visit local business, twist balloons, face paint, do skits and share some of the history of clowning for those who have a desire to get a quick education. I have seen other clown groups set up at local festivals and offer free balloons and face paint designs, allowing them the opportunity to tell folks about this great art.
Get your clown friends together, even if you don’t belong to a local clown alley, and go out and have some fun during this National Clown Week 2016!