Calendar of Annual Events -- Presented by the Washerst Chamber of Commerce
JANUARYEvery third weekend in January, the Washerst Chamber of Commerce presents the Lady Gaga Pro-Am Bowling tournament at the Babes & Balls Bowling Lanes on Dickinson Boulevard.
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FEBRUARYThe second weekend in February is "Founding Fathers Day": Washerst, PA, was founded in 1801by Alojzy Wasniewski and Mieczyslaw Herstikovsnovstiffikoff. Besides being home to poet Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson’s third cousin, twice removed – at her request), Washerst, PA, is the world’s principal producer of cat litter, and it is the global headquarters for Kleen Kitty Kat Litter,®the top brand of cat litter used around the planet.
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MARCHDid you know that Emmett Lee Dickinson invented improv sketch comedy? He also worked comedy clubs in Baltimore, MD, with Edgar Allan Poe as the comedy duo “Izzy Sharp and Moe.” They were the first to tell “Why did the chicken cross the road?” and “Waiter, there’s are fly in my soup” jokes.
As a result, every fourth weekend in March, Washerst plays host to the Washerst Improv and Stand-up Comedy Spectacular -- where Leonard Barr, Kathy Griffin, and Jimmy Kimmel got their starts! |
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APRILAmerican Poetry Month* traces its roots back to 1830 when it was first founded by Emmett Lee Dickinson as the Metrical Composition Hour. It later grew to a week and then a month. Celebrate around town with Poetry Slams at the Dickinson Museum, Dickinson’s Restaurant, and Emmett Lee Dickinson Community College.
The Dickinson Museum also sponsors National Twitter Poetry Writing Month: Use hashtag #NaTwiPoWriMo *Not affiliated with National Poetry Month, also in April |
Poem In A Pocket Day (4th Thursday in April):
Since the mid-1800s, citizens of Washerst have celebrated "Poem in a Pocket Day" thanks to Emmett Lee Dickinson! Dickinson’s mother worked as a cosmetician at the Perish & Begone Funeral Parlor owned by brothers Eberhard and Egan Perish and Caldwell Begone. For a short time, Dickinson helped out by acting as a cadaver model for his mother. During that time, Dickinson would slip short, funny poems into the pockets of the dressed stiffs as his mother prepped them for their funerals. Frequently, one of the Perish brothers would remove a poem from a pocket and read it at a funeral or wake. The poems often added a much needed bit of comedy relief at the services.
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MAYDid you know that the very first traffic accident in the United States occurred in Washerst, PA?
Celebrate traffic laws, traffic lights and traffics signs at Washert's National Traffic Light and Traffic Sign Museum on May 17th, National Traffic Light Day. |
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JUNE
Did you know that the poetry of Emmett Lee Dickinson inspired the Bee Gees' lyrics for "Saturday Night Fever"?
On the third weekend in June, dance the nights away during “Disco Daze” in Historic Downtown Washerst! |
JULYJuly 4th: the annual Corn Boil in Dickinson Park.
July 15th: Celebrate Cow Appreciation Day -- AND -- the birthday of Qwerty Jean Dickinson, Emmett Lee Dickinson's daught (and the inspiration for Harper Lee's masterpiece To Kill A Mockingbird) |
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AUGUSTWasherst's annual Moss & Hornwort Jubilee holds the record with the Guiness Book of World's Records as the longest running annual civic event, held every year in Washerst since 1802.
In the picture of the right, one of Emmett Lee Dickinson's older sisters, Ethelene Etheline, opens the Jubilee in the extravagant spectacle called "The Pageant of Herbivores." |
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SEPTEMBEROn the thrid Saturday in September, Washerst's campus of Dickinson College’s Emmett Lee Dickinson Community College hosts its annual Homecoming.
Some renowned ELDCC Alumni: Oprah Winfrey, Neil Patrick Harris, and Kato Kaelin* *Attended just 1 semester at the college |
OCTOBEROn the weekend closest to October 12th, the Dickinson Organization of Poetry Enthusiasts (DOPE) celebrates the birthday of Emmett Lee Dickinson, Emily Dickinson's third cousin, twice removed (at her request).
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NOVEMBERThroughout the month of November, the Emmett Lee Dickinson Museum (above the coin-op Laundromat on Dickinson Boulevard) sponsors NationalTwitter Re-Tweeting Month
If you re-tweet any tweets, use the hashtag #NaTwiReTweMo |
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On the first and second weekends in November, Washerstians celebrate "Deja Vu Days" to commemorate two early meetings of the Dickinson Organization of Poetry Enthusiasts (DOPE). The first meeting took place on November 2, 1871, and the second meeting occurred one week later on November 9th. Since 1959, the city of Washerst has celebrated with a Deja Vu festival! Both of the November 1871 meetings are pictured at the left.
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DECEMBERThroughout the month of December, celebrate the Solstice with Washerst’s annual Festival of Lights!
Pictured at the left: The “Triangle of Lights” outside the Dickinson Museum (above the coin-op Laundromat on Dickinson Boulevard) |
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