We are about to wrap up the eighth annual Blogging from A to Z April Challenge. It's pretty cool to realize that the A to Z Challenge can now be considered a "yearly event"!
Yearly Events
Many families as well as communities have their own special celebrations to commemorate milestones that are especially significant to them. Throughout the United States one can find events and gatherings in honor of something that people want to remember. Countless festivals and fairs occur throughout the year in towns, neighborhoods, or even city or statewide. These are aside from the holiday events that are celebrated nationwide.
For years in my former hometown of Maryville, Tennessee there was a yearly celebration known as Hillbilly Homecoming that was popular with locals and out-of-towners alike. This event apparently lost favor as something that negatively stigmatized the community even though thousands enjoyed those few days celebrated every year.
Other cities have latched on to events that generate revenue that benefits many businesses and individuals as well while showing a good time to many. There are street fairs, arts festivals, and so many other celebrations that have retained a popularity that keeps people coming back year after year.
This weekend brings to an end another yearly event--The Blogging from A to Z April Challenge. From the way bloggers keep coming back to participate and to read it looks like this event might keep going for years to come.
Another yearly tradition that is part of the A to Z Challenge is the A to Z Reflections Posts where many participants return with a post telling about their April experience. This year the Reflections Post day will officially be on Monday May 8th. There will be more information about this at the A to Z Blog on Monday May 1st.
Does your family celebrate any yearly traditions? What are some of the yearly events in the community where you live? Do you see any value in having yearly events?
Yearly events are important in our lives, birthdays, memories, but whatever reason you remember these events each one and the people you remember are imprtant. The A to Z Challenge to me is a most significant yearly event, I am in the thro's of completing my eighth...... to me quite an achievement.
ReplyDeleteLong may it live on.
Enjoy your week-end Lee.Another great post.
Yvonne.
Yvonne, life might be rather boring without the yearly celebrations so many of us look forward to. These yearly events also are good for the economy.
DeleteLee
Yearly traditions are super important markers, both private and public - they anchor us to our places in the world. I'm sorry to hear that your hometown discontinued the tradition in spite of so many enjoying it.
ReplyDeleteThe A-Z is one of my favourite blogging traditions. Can't imagine an April w/o it now!
Nilanjana
Madly-in-Verse
Nilanjana, Maryville has tried other annual celebrations but so far none has seemed to have taken hold in a defining sort of way. Economy is often a factor in keeping celebrations going.
DeleteHope you'll keep coming back for April A to Z!
Lee
Yearly events can help mark time for us and keep us looking forward to things. The drunks around here love when the festival thing comes, then they can go stay at the beer tent all day. I swear its the best moment of the year to some of them. Pffft.
ReplyDeletePat, a good many of us like a party atmosphere and a community-wide celebration is a good way to have that. The festivals can bring people together as well.
DeleteLee
My city have a few yearly fairs, but I don't always attend them. Yearly traditions seem like a fun thing. I think, I should start one of those with some of my close friends. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing
Yearnings A Poem
Best wishes!
Karnika, I very rarely attend community-wide yearly events--the ones I attend are family things. A nice smaller gathering of friends as a tradition can be fun and a nice way to maintain or reestablish connections.
DeleteLee
Yearly events are something too look forward to. The A to Z Challenge has become a tradition for so many, now. Thanks for starting it all! ☺ Like your Independence Day on July 4, we have Canada Day on July 1. Major deal this year, as Canada is celebrating its 150th birthday.
ReplyDeleteDebbie D, I always look forward to seeing my family back east. Then of course I have a great anticipatory feeling for A to Z--hopefully someday it will be done as I envision it in my dreams.
DeleteLee
Living in a very small town, our annual events tend to be modest! One of my favourites will be this coming Monday, our May Fayre where children will dance around maypoles, our May Queen will be crowned and the brass band will march around entertaining us. Can't wait!
ReplyDeleteAnother day in Amble Bay!
Keith, small town events are often the best because they are more personal. I like your town's May event better than Los Angeles where they are going to stage a May Day #resist protest.
DeleteLee
As a community, here in India, we celebrate a lot of yearly events. My favorite among them are Ganesh Festival and Navaratri Festival. I love them for their vibrancy, positivity and cheer that they bring to us. They also provide a platform for all to meet one and all and catch up! For me they are energy power house...energy that lasts for the year and makes me yearn for more!
ReplyDeleteAnd now on, we, the MocktailMommies will have another eventful yearly celebration... A to Z challenge!
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Anagha From Team MocktailMommy
Collage Of Life
Anagha, one year someone did an A to Z series about the celebrations in India. They were so colorful.
DeleteLee
Wait, the Reflection Post is for May 8? That's a relief. I thought it was May 1 and mine's still in rough draft.
ReplyDeleteI used to live in Eastern Tennessee and have been to Maryville. I don't recall hearing about the Hillbilly Homecoming though.
Trudy @ Reel Focus
Food in Film: Yolk
Trudy, you still have time to compile your Reflections. We like to give some time between the end of the Challenge and the Reflections Post to give everyone time to reflect.
DeleteHillbilly Homecoming stopped around 1965 I believe--right before I moved there.
Lee
Annual events are always something to be looked forward to. Even if I didn't go, it was cool when the Puyallup Fair opened for 2 weeks in Sept. It's one of the oldest fairs in America. Starts with a cattle drive down Meridian Street to the fairgrounds.
ReplyDeleteJoJo, if nothing else the yearly events usually provide an economic boost to a community.
DeleteLee
The A to Z Challenge and the August Postcard Poetry fest are important markers on my personal calendar. I also have family birthdays, Holiday family meals for Christmas and Thanksgiving and New Years Day. There were others that have fallen by the wayside. I cannot think of any community events I take part in since moving to the big city.
ReplyDeleteFinding Eliza
Kristin, in the big city a lot of stuff gets lost. I'd say they have a lot of yearly events that you don't even hear about.
DeleteLee
Yes, yearly events are always nice to look forward to. We've been going to an annual golf tournament for the last 20+ years. Now I can count the A to Z as one of my favorites, even though I had to skip a couple of letters :(
ReplyDeleteY is for You Shook Me All Night Long
Janet, if you made most of the letters then that's still cool. At least you made a lot of commenting rounds.
DeleteLee
My city has the Tulip Festival every year around this time, along with a few other yearly events held in parks, though I haven't gone in years. Not only is it crowded, but parking is really hard to find downtown.
ReplyDeleteThere's also the yearly Shalom Festival in Saratoga, but parking is also a bit tricky there, and that event seems more geared towards children and families instead of single people who came by themselves. They have booths, food, and an entertainer like a fire juggler or magician.
Carrie-Anne, I tend to avoid crowded places these days when I can.
DeleteLee
Lee,
ReplyDeleteAside holidays and birthdays, we don't celebrate any annual events. I remember growing up in southern WV, my folks always attended the church sponsored Decoration Ceremonies (this is to honor belated loved ones) which is basically a time to have a large picnic, lots of gospel mewsic, and of course placing flowers on grave sites. There may be more to this but that's all I recall now. It seems like this took place near Memorial weekend but again it's been too long. Knoxville hosts their annual Dogwood Art Festival which is a huge crowd pleaser. I haven't actually attended any of these events in years but I used to love walking around Market Square Mall to see all the venders' displays. Nice post and thanks for visiting, Art Sketching Through the Alphabet “Y” (Yawn)!
Cathy, I never went to any of the Dogwood Festival events when I lived there, but I did usually drive on some of the scenic Dogwood Trails.
DeleteLee