CORTES DAY

Summer is such a great time for putting the projects down, closing up shop, and heading out for some local fun. We piled a group of friends into our boat last Saturday and headed over to Cortes Island for their annual Cortes Day. The five-minute parade, games (they lasted much longer), events, fabulous food, dancing, music, costumes and the unexpected were all there, and we were too!

 

The honorary firetruck and ambulance opened up the parade, and then came all the rest. It was a quickie, but there was lots of ingenuity, plenty of candy showers, fern decor, colorful attire, and children.

This 5-seater go-cart was a hit with the little ones. It was not only in the parade, but was zipping around throughout the day. You know those headrests that you take out of your car and either store or throw out? Each seat back was a discarded headrest. Now that's riding in style! There's a handle on the back for the pusher.

 

 These two boys were so proud of their fish costumes. A large cardboard box, a little paint, and they were good to go!

On to the games. The saw pull was a popular one.

 The "Nail Sail Bail" had six 2-person teams. They were given a few supplies, 2 hours for building, and then...

 

into the water, around the buoys and back again!  Only one team member needed to be in the boat (they built paddles too!) and the other was able to swim behind for a little exta oomph! Just one out of six capsized...not bad. Of course I was disappointed that the women didn't win.

A tiny booth off to the side caught my attention. There was lots of groaning and grimacing coming from this stand. A well fabricated troll's face was on the board and there were two holes cut for nostrils. Pay your money, put your hand in and see if you get a prize or ??????...it's the "Booger Booth"! The attendant kept telling people to "just flick it over there" or "get way in there and see what you get". I thought it was pretty creative!

Another fun event was the chicken poop contest. A large grid with 512 squares were available for a $2 per square. When all the squares were filled with names, it was set on the ground, surrounded with chicken wire, and the "official" chicken was set inside. The owner of the square where the O.C. happened to poop, was the winner of $512. Drat! I didn't win!
AND, on top of all the fun and gaiety and laughter, there was amazing food! Salmon, burgers, salad bar, pies, cakes, ice cream...only as Cortesians can produce! I grazed to my hearts content! Thanks to Cortes Islanders for a fantastic day!