And Now for a Corny Blog Post

Arlee Bird cornsorting with the corny mascot of the Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota

      Blogger friends!   Lend me your ears!   Sometimes I realize I resort to corn on Tossing It Out, but in this post I've got the real thing.  There's more than just a kernel of truth to this post--there's a whole bunch of kernels.  

        In our recent trip across country from New Jersey back to Los Angeles, my wife and I traversed a number of the agricultural states of America's Heartland and were impressed by the farmland we passed on our journey.  It was mostly corn fields, but also many other crops that I, being no agriculturist, could not identify.  I'm guessing we might have seen a lot of soy, peas, and other plantings.  Then there were the vast fields of sunflowers in South Dakota that kept Tina Downey on my mind.  If you'll remember, A to Z Team member Tina Downey passed away a year ago on August 23rd and we sorely miss her.  Seeing those sunflowers was kind like a tribute in her memory.

Mitchell, South Dakota

The Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota

      If there are any among you who have heard of Mitchell, South Dakota then you are surely familiar with a true oddity of America Heartland legend--"The World's Only Corn Palace".   This was one place that we had to stop for as it is a unique landmark.

       The Corn Palace is the centerpiece of the city's yearly Corn Palace Festival as well as being the locale of many other festivities throughout the year.  The building has a basketball court that is used for local college and high school games and a stage that has featured many name acts in its long history.  

During the peak tourist season the main Corn Palace floor becomes a veritable souvenir department store.  That black rectangle in the background is the vast stage.

       

      In fact yours truly played the Corn Palace a number of times in the 70's and 80's when I was touring with the World of Fantasy Players so I was well familiar with this venue which was another reason I wanted to revisit this world renown facility.   They've made a lot of improvements since I was there last.   The place looked fine and was bustling with tourists on the Thursday afternoon when we visited.

       The most unique feature of the Corn Palace and what gives it its name is that the mural mosaics on the exterior and interior are made up entirely of ears of colored corn and other parts of the corn plants.  Each year the old murals are stripped and replaced with new ones.  This is a pretty amazing feat that takes weeks of tedious work to complete.

      This year's Corn Palace Festival begins this coming Thursday August 26th running through Sunday August 30th.   Some of the featured acts this year are Tony Orlando and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.  You can still make it if you are so inclined, but I'm not sure about motel availability as the event draws thousands each year.

      Durn it all!   I just missed it!  Shucks!

My wife couldn't resist the shopping at the souvenir booths on the Corn Palace basketball court. 

The Valley of the Jolly Green Giant

A blog giant posing with a giant of peas.  Can you guess who is who?

        Earlier in the day prior to reaching Mitchell, South Dakota we made a quick stop off at Blue Earth, Minnesota.   I was actually getting off the interstate to find a place where my wife could buy some Minnesota souvenirs and we happened upon this tribute to the Jolly Green Giant.  Blue Earth is home to a Green Giant museum as the city played a vital role in the company's history.  Each year in July Blue Earth holds a Giant Days Festival.  By the way Blue Earth also claims to being the place of origin of the ice cream sandwich--that's what they say at least.

         And now for you Green Giant fans--remember this?


.

          I'd forgotten all about this crazy song from the group that gave us that most notorious version of the song "Louie, Louie" and then even before I got to Blue Earth, Minnesota I heard this song played on the radio.  Some kind premonition maybe?   Oh, peas...

           Have you visited either of these nutty Roadside Attractions?   Do you have any unique festivals in or near the community where you live?   What is the oddest place you've ever visited?
            

Related articles

• Nitty Gritty Dirt Band Still Going Strong
• South Dakota corn crop could achieve record yield this year
• New domes installed atop Corn Palace attraction in Mitchell
• Corn on the cob: A history

The House on the Rock: I didn't know what to expect

Image by John Kroll via Flickr

Dollhouse at House on the Rock

            When I first visited the House on the Rock in 1981 I didn't realize what I was going to see.  I had seen it as a little red square on the map designating it as a place of interest so I thought I might check it out.

             This was back when I was touring with the World of Fantasy Players stage production of The Wizard of Oz.  Whenever we had the opportunity we would check out any places of interest in the areas we would be travelling and if there was time we'd play tourist.

              House on the Rock sounded intriguing.  I didn't find much information about it other than it was a house that had been built on a pinnacle of rock.  Since Taliesin--the summer home of renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright--was situated nearby I figured House on the Rock must be something similar to that.  Boy, was I wrong.

               Everyone who was working on the show catered to my whim and went to see this attraction.  It's located in a beautiful area of southern Wisconsin west of Madison and not too far from the popular Wisconsin Dells tourist area.  We had already spent some time in the Dells so we were in a touristy frame of mind.

              A road through a forested area brought us to a graveled parking lot.  All we could see were trees so there was no hint of what was to come.  We were a bit taken aback by the cost, which at the time I think was about twelve dollars.  It seemed a bit much to pay to tour a house even if the house was built on a rock.  Since we were there we agreed to go ahead and pay the admission to see the sight.

             It started out interestingly enough.   The stone house was attractive and unique in design.  Passageways meandered through several rooms with an assortment of fanciful furniture, Tiffany lamps, and other unusual furnishings from all parts of the world.  I was fascinated and pleased with the experience as we neared the end of the house tour.

             Then came the truly strange and unexpected part--a passageway filled with all sorts of peculiar displays led from the house to what I assumed was the exit.  I was somewhat puzzled to emerge into what appeared to be an early twentieth century street.  There were storefronts and various vehicles parked on the street.  We had been transported to another place and era.  We spent some time here and then realized there was a theater entrance with a brightly lit marquee above it.

              After entering the theater we found ourselves in a museum-like exhibit of music boxes, nickelodeon machines, and mechanized musical instrument assemblages.  As we progressed, each display got bigger, grander, and more complex, until eventually we were passing through entire rooms filled with automated musical instruments and mechanical figures. The rooms were glitzy, gaudy, and full of amazing music.  Trying to describe it adequately is futile.  It was one of those must see to believe experiences.

         And it went on from there with too many displays to describe here. Even the bathrooms were amazing with displays that were like visiting a museum.  It was all such an adjective inducing attraction that it would become superfluous to go on describing it.

          We left in awe of what we had seen.  For a few years after that visit, my wife and I returned to that incredible house whenever we were in the area.  Each year new things were added with more promised for the future.  There was much still planned to be added when we visited last in the mid-eighties.

           I hope that one day I can go back to see what new surprises have been added to this super excursion into surrealism.  If you are ever visiting the Dells or somewhere near the House on the Rock I would highly recommend a side trip.  According to their website, the House on the Rock now has a resort hotel that sounds like a fine addition to make your visit an top notch vacation experience.

           Have you been to House on the Rock?  If you've been there in recent years, how is it now?  Where have you gone that was much different than your expectations?

Related articles

• Road Trip: The House on the Rock (biodork.wordpress.com)
• The House on the Rock (bizarreprodigy.com)
• Frank Lloyd Wright   (https://www.artsy.net/artist/frank-lloyd-wright)

The Press Release

Recap:  If you've been following this series on promotion you may want to scroll down to the next section "What is a Press Release?"

             Today we go a bit deeper into the topic of press releases.  What has turned into a topic series began with a challenge to the Blogging from A to Z participants.   I am encouraging all of you to try to get a story about the A to Z Challenge published in your local paper or some other special paper or newsletter, receive coverage on the airwaves (radio or television), get mentioned on an internet news or information site, and/or wherever else you can come up with.  In other words, I'd like to see our efforts get greater recognition.  I will post any efforts where you have been successful on my blog and may even give you an opportunity to do a guest post on Tossing It Out.

            Next, we talked about the reasons why you would be interested in getting press coverage for A to Z and how getting press can help you and whatever it is you are trying to do.   This post examines what news is and how you can spin your own story in order to make it news.   There is a sample press release included on this post.

              Then yesterday, we talked about getting press by talking to the right people.  This is often the easiest way since you might not even have to write anything to submit to the paper.  You've just got to make the right contacts to help you receive the coverage you need.  I gave some examples in that post.

              If you think that you will ever need to promote yourself or even if not, I encourage you to go back to these posts and read them.   Self-promotion is essential to the success of anyone who doesn't have a publicity machine behind us--and that is most of us.

What Is a Press Release?            

        A press release is an announcement of anything that someone wants to be made public by the media.   It can announce events, relationships, or the release of a new product.  Using the example of an author this could include a public appearance at a local venue, getting a contract with a major publisher, or the release of a new book.  The press release might be a combination of the above.  It can apply to anybody in any situation they deem might be of interest to some segment of the population.

         Press releases are used by individuals, businesses, organizations, or any entity that wants what they wish to convey to be treated as newsworthy.   In order to be deemed newsworthy it should have some special significance.   If you have self-published a book, the newsworthiness might not be as strong as having published the book, then appearing at the local library where a minor local celebrity will be introducing you.   You want to pack as much relevant content into the release without cluttering it with non-essential information.

       The press release should follow the standards of any news story in answering the questions of who, what, when, where, and why.   The story should be well-written with good grammatical style.  My suggestion would be to read some informational announcements in the paper and see how they are written.   A good place to find these articles is in the business, entertainment, or community news sections of the paper.   You will begin to identify a particular style of writing and presentation in articles based on a press release.

How should a press release be prepared?

        Typically a standard informational press release will be written tersely in a straight-forward manner.  If you are writing a press release you are probably better off to avoid too much creative writing and stick to reporting.  This is not to say a creatively written piece won't be accepted, but it's better to save that until  you've talked to someone beforehand and they've invited you to write one.   Often if the story is considered of enough interest, the press media will have a reporter get more info and they will embellish the story into a feature.

        It's usually very important to follow the standard rules of formatting your release.  My advice is to do a Google search for terms like "press release format" or "press release template".   A search engine will provide you with many sites that will give you the proper way to format your article for submission.

What do I do with my press release when it is ready?

         Once you've gotten your press release written, contact the places you want to send it to either via in-person visit, email, or phone.   It's a good idea to actually find out the name of the person to whom the press release should be delivered and directly communicate with that person.   You can start with the local papers.  The contact lists are usually somewhere in the front pages or on the editorial page of the paper.  I've found that now it's even better to see if the paper has a website.  The website will usually have the names of who is responsible for what and explicit information on how to submit your story.

Some real-life examples

            Now for some specific examples taken from my past experience:   For many years I managed a touring theatrical production.  Like any author or business should have, we had a press kit that was sent to whoever was promoting the show before we arrived.  The kit included 3 to 4 generic fill-in-the-blank stories that could be submitted to the local paper and radio or television stations.  Every town we visited had the same generic stories to use and the person submitting them would merely copy the stories and fill in the blanks for time, place, and name of sponsor.  The paper or media source would use them as they received them or rewrite them to be more entertaining.

           All of the examples I am using are from the 1979 tour of The Magic of Cinderella performed by "The World of Fantasy Players".  First here are two examples of stories that were put in the paper exactly as submitted according to our press release script:

Generic press release stories
click on image to enlarge

Including Photographs

           Also included in the press packet was a sheet of 4 photographs depicting scenes from the production.  These were publicity photos staged prior to the tour and taken by a professional photographer.  It is always preferable to include a photo in any press release because it attracts more attention.  If you are sending out a press release about the A to Z Challenge and including something about yourself in the story,  you should include a photo of yourself.  

           But going back to our show--sometimes the paper would use a photo and include a very condensed version of the press release to use as a caption.  Photo with press release info condensed into caption is shown below:

Publicity photo with portion of press release used in caption
click photo to enlarge

The Biggest Coup of All!

            One of the best things that can happen is that you score not only the press release story, but also an accompanying photo.   Beyond that, a feature story inspired by your submitted press release with a special photo spread is the ultimate goal.  This is very achievable if you've put the right spin on the story and made yourself accessible for an interview.  That's when you can really self-promote. 

              Below you can see where the paper has used the complete press release story and included a publicity photo (the guard in the funny hat and the beard is me):

Complete press release with publicity photo

A Final Thought for You

          I keep hearing hints from some of you that you don't feel comfortable self-promoting.  My question is "Why?".   Don't think of it as bragging or anything like that.   Believe in yourself and what you have to offer.  Then be ready and willing to share it with the world.   If you have a book or some product that you want people to buy, then you need to have total confidence and believe that people need what you have.  If you are at that level of thinking, it shouldn't take much more to be excited about wanting to tell others about it. 

          If it's rejection you are afraid of then get over it.  You've already been rejected plenty in your life and there will be more rejection to come.  Get over it and just keep pressing forward.  If you've got some big things coming up that you fear may be rejected, like book queries and the like, trying to get some press on how you are participating in the A to Z Challenge and how other bloggers might like to join us should be small potatoes.   If you've put together your press release the right way, your press release shouldn't be rejected and even if it is you haven't lost anything over it.  You will have overcome some fear and that should help you in the things you do in the future.

        Just try it to see if you can do it.  I'm anxious to hear some of your stories about what you encountered.  If you have any questions or comments feel free to contact me.   One of the reasons I've been stretching this story out into this series is that I've had more direct emails regarding this than for anything else that has appeared previously on my blog.  A lot of you are interested in this topic of promotion and for good reason.  I'm looking forward to seeing some of the stories you get in the public eye.

         Tomorrow I'll conclude the series with some examples of how to spin your story to make it more interesting to the reading audience. 

         Have you tried writing a press release yet?   Have you made any attempts at submitting a story? 

             

Looking At Our Futures

Today is the tomorrow we worried about yesterday. ~Author Unknown




my career plans

        I don't guess I ever really worried that much about my future when I was young, but I did think about it.  I dreamed, pondered, and planned.   When I was in junior high, Mr. Dinsmore, my social studies teacher gave us an assigned project to research our five top career choices.  Each student was required to prepare a report of the requirements and preparation necessary to achieve our careers, expected financial outcomes, job descriptions, and any other relevant facts related to our career choices.

         My choices, in order of most preferred to least, were professional entertainer, musician, writer, photographer, and teacher.  By my senior year of high school, though these choices were still part of my dreams, I decided to attend university and major in psychology with the intent of being a psychologist of some sort.  After the first year I switched my major to English and started leaning toward a teaching career. I also began writing, submitting, and getting rejections.  It seemed I was on my way to becoming a professional student.

The Real World of Work

          Eventually as best laid plans will often go, I dropped out of school as I was nearing graduation.  As fate would have it, or dreams would materialize, I began working with a touring show as a performer.  Though I had grown up working in professional entertainment with my family, I was now working on my own as a paid performer. Future dream number one accomplished.

           After a couple years I was married and got off the road to await the birth of our first child, settling temporarily in Richmond, Virginia.  While there, I was hooked up with a dinner theater where the show director discovered I played violin, which was exactly what they were trying to find for an upcoming show.  I had to join the musicians union and I began playing nightly in a musical called "The Robber Bridegroom".   Dream number two had been attained.

            For the next decade I continued as a performer and manager of a touring theatrical company called "World of Fantasy Players".   I was living my dreams in the most wonderful way.  Then I spent another nearly twenty years as a manager of a distribution company, which turned out to be a near perfect job for raising my daughters and being able to play an active role in their lives.

            Currently I'm at least writing, but yet to have anything truly notable published.  I am immersed in writing again like I had been in college.  So I am working on that dream now.  I also take pictures now and then to put on my blog posts--okay maybe that's a stretch, but it wasn't my biggest dream.  I did a stint of substitute teaching years ago in Tennessee.  I at least had a taste and who knows what the future holds on that one.

             If there is any point to any of this I guess it's that dreams of childhood can often become realities if we keep thinking about them.  I guess I'd go as far to say they will become realities to some extent if we maintain focus.  I still dream about my future even though I'm heading towards sixty.  Why not? The future keeps coming and I'm not going to stop it.  Might as well plan for tomorrow as long as I'm thinking about it.

What's Your Plan?

           Are you doing anything like what you dreamed about when you were a kid?  What changed after you graduated from high school?   Or if you're still in school, what are you doing to get ready for your future?  Do you plan your life much or do you just basically take each day as it comes?   What are the dreams that you once had that you don't think you'll ever fulfill?   Do you tend to worry about your future?