You Gotta Have Park!/Celebrating Earth Day

Good afternoon . . . sorry I've been MIA and for falling behind on blogging. We've been busy networking and creating new games for the shop, which I will talk about below. In addition, we've also been posting a lot of shop updates and fun facts over at our Facebook page.

National Parks Week begins tomorrow. During this week, you can celebrate the wildlife, culture, and history of our over 400 National Parks. Kids can become "junior rangers" and there will nature walks, talk-backs, and tours for all ages. There will also be artwork on display at several locations. For a list of events in your area, consult the event calendar.

Yellowstone National Park

The Yellowstone area in the territories of Montana and Wyoming was established as America's first National Park. The national parks movement was started in response to concerns regarding the destruction of Native American civilization, wildlife, and wilderness. Throughout the next several years, more national parks and monuments were established across the U.S. However, there was no single agency managing the federal park lands/ On August 25, 1916, President Woodrow Wilson signed an act to create a new federal bureau called the National Park Service (NPS). The NPS was formed as a bureau within the Department of the Interior, responsible for protecting the 35 national parks and monuments. To keep with our theme of celebrating milestones, the National Parks Service will kick-off their centennial celebration this August.

In keeping up with the topic of conservation and nature, millions of Americans will be celebrating Earth Day this coming Wednesday (April 22). Earth Day was founded in 1969 by then-senator Gaylord Nelson to teach Americans about environmental protection. The following year, over 20 million Americans participated in peaceful demonstrations in favor of environmental reform. I was in second grade when this celebration took place and I still remember it fondly. This was the first time I learned about pollution and the effect it had on the environment and living things. With talk in recent years about sustainability and "green living," Earth Day has become the largest secular holiday in the world, celebrated by billions. Adults and kids celebrate this day by planting trees and wildflowers, making nature crafts, supporting local growers so you don't have to travel far (thus wasting gas), recycling the things you use, and donating unwanted household items, Remember, every day is Earth Day.

Today's Freebie Friday is an Earth Day vocabulary corssword puzzle geared toward kids and tweens. As usual, just right-click to download and print. This puzzle is for personal use only and not for resale. Answers will be published next week.

This week, we have also posted our first BINGO game at the shop, which consists of 30 cocktail-themed cards, along with a blank card, calling mat, and instructions. Below is a sample card. Unlike our other games, this one is available for instant download, but we can personalize it for your event by either hitting the "Request a Custom Order" button or sending us a convo on Etsy.

We've also introduced two new games in our "Quote, Unquote" series. These are trivia games in which party guests match quotes from well-known movies with their titles. The latest topics are high-school movies and sports movies, which you can find in the "Graduation Games" and "Sports and Hobbies" sections of our shop, repsectively.

Speaking of graduations, the Class of 2015 has started celebrating, and we will return next week with some party ideas. Family reunions are big during the summer, and this will also be a future topic of discussion. If you have any ideas for either parties or games, please either comment on our Facebook page or this blog or email us at printasticgames@gmail.com.

Next week's milestone birthdays include:

Happy 25th!

Matthew Underwood (4/23)

Happy 30th!

Steve Johnson (4/19)

Happy 60th!

Judy Davis (4/23)

Michael O'Keefe (4/24)

Happy 65th!

Peter Frampton (4/22)

Rob Hyman (4/24)

Happy 70th!

Doug Clifford (4/24)

Talia Shire (4/25)

Happy 75th!

Michael Parks (4/24)

Al Pacino (4/25)

Stu Cook (4/25)

Bjorn Ulvaeus (4/25)

Happy 80th!

Charles Grodin (4/21)

Still Going Strong!

Shirley MacLaine (81 on 4/24)

Hugh O'Brian (90 on April 4/19)

This weekend, we will be heading to the Tribeca Film Festival to see a documentary called "Very Semi-Serious," which is about the cartoons that appear in The New Yorker.

That's all for today. Have a PRINTASTIC weekend!

Kathy

Is It Spring Yet?/Celebrating World Poetry Day

Good afternoon on the official first day of Spring! It looks like Old Man Winter wants to hang around a bit longer since we are getting 4 to 6 inches of snow here in NYC today.

Spring is officially called the Vernal Equinox. The name "Vernal Equinox" comes from the Latin language: "vernal" means "spring" and "equinox means "equal night." At 6:45 p.m. EDT tonight, the sun will appear overhead at the Earth's equator. There will be exactly 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness. While we welcome spring here in the northern hemisphere, it is the first day of autumn in the southern hemisphere.. This year, it has an unusual distinction of coinciding with both a supermoon and a total solar eclipse. This phenomenon hasn't happened since 1662!

It is said that you can stand a raw egg on its end during the first day of spring? Is this true? Most experts say yes, but you can try this (with patience) any day of the year.

I enjoy the warm weather that spring (eventually) brings, but it wreaks havoc on my allergies. Although the flowers of spring--daffodils, dandelions, lillies, tulips, irises, and lilacs--are pretty to look at, I am highly allergic to the pollen they produce.

You're a Poet and You Know It. Tomorrow, we celebrate World Poetry Day. Poetry is one form of writing I could never master, but I enjoy reading works by others. This celebration is an initiative of UNESCO and was first proclaimed in 1999. The organization recognized the importance of poetry in the arts and wanted to promote the efforts of small publishers who produce poetry books and magazines, as well as the reading, writing, and teaching of poetry. Poetry is strongly associated with other forms of art such as dance, music, and painting. The combination of music and poetry is especially beneficial to children.. Both teach children to develop rhyming skills and notice rhythim in language. To celebrate this day, here will poetry readings at local bookstores, cafes, and schools.Check your community calendars for more information. For an introduction to poetry, along with a list of recommended resources, check out the website Poetry 101.

The second round of the NCAA tournament started last night and will conclude tonight. There have been some surprising upsets and a lot of drama. Today's Freebie Friday is called "March Madness Matchup," where you will match 20 college teams with their nicknames. As usual, just right-click and print. This game is for personal use only and not for resale. Answers will be published next week.

We unveiled a new game for graduation-themed parties at the shop today. For just $7.00, the customer will get two games in one! In the first game, party guests will match famous people with the high school he/she attended. In the second game, guests will try to figure out whether 20 celebrities were either valedictorian or salutatorian of their high school class. 

Celebrating milestone birthdays next week are:

Happy 25th!

Lincoln Parrish (3/22)

Keisha Castle-Hughes (3/24)

Taylor Atelian (20)

Happy 30th!

Keira Knightly (3/26)

Happy 40th!

Guillermo Diaz (3/22)

Melanie Blatt (3/25)

Juvenile (3/26)

Fergie (3/27)

Happy 50th!

Richard Grieco (3/23)

Sarah Jessica Parker (3/25)

Happy 60th!

James House (3/22)

Reba McEntire (3/28)

Happy 65th!

Martin Short (3/26)

Ronnie McDowell (3/26)

Tony Banks (65)

Happy 75th!

Anita Bryant (3/25)

James Caan (3/26)

Austin Pendleton (3/27)

Happy 80th!

M. Emmett Walsh (3/22)

Julian Glover (3/27)

Still Going Strong!

Stephen Sondheim (85 on 3/22)

William Shatner (84 on 3/22)

Marty Allen (93 on 3/23)

Alan Arkin (81 on 3/26)

Rosie the Riveter

Women's History Month Fun Fact of the Day: During World War II, many American women entered the workforce to support their families while their husbands were in combat. "Rosie the Riveter" was the star of a government campaign to recruit female workers for the manufacturing industry and is still an iconic image today.

In addition to my addiction for word puzzles and trivia games, I am an avid postcard collector. Tomorrow, I will be attending the Mary Martin Postcard Expo at the Holiday Inn on West 57th Street.

Update: I've just learned from a very reliable source that today is National Proposal Day. This holiday is set aside for one who truly knows his/her partner and is prepared to pop the question. There are a number of creative ways one can propose marriage. This coincides with the first day of spring, the season for love. For a unique card idea, check out the wedding/bridal shower section of our shop, or you can order a custom crossword for your intended.

Next week's topics will include baby showers and the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament.

Have a PRINTASTIC weekend!

Kathy

Going Full Circle on National Pi Day

Good afternoon . . . sorry I've been MIA. It's been a very busy couple of weeks at work, and I've been spending some time promoting, networking, and thinking of new games to feature at the shop. We've got some exciting celebrations to talk about next week, and I will also discuss ideas for baby showers.

Tomorrow is National Pi Day, which commemorates the celebration of the constant of Pi (π). Pi is the measurement of the circle's circumference to its diameter, which is approximately 3.14159265359. Experts are calling this the "Pi Day of the Century" because of tomorrow's date (3/14/15), which gives us the first five digits of Pi, As an added bonus, be sure to observe Pi Day at 9:26:53 (AM or PM), which will give you the full 10 digits of Pi. This is an occurrence that will not happen for another century. Coincidentally, it's Albert Einstein's birthday tomorrow, which makes this day even more fun for math and science fans! Random Facts provides some interesting trivia about Pi. 

Many science museums around the country are planning live events. Here in New York, the Museum of Mathematics (MoMath) will gather people in Madison Square Park to light up a circle around its central fountain and measure the circumference. Free hot chocolate and pie will be served. Other museums holding events are Franklin Institute, Princeton University (who will sponsor a pie-eating contest). San Franciscos's Exploatorium (where pizza-pie tossing will be demonstrated), Most of the museums are offering either free admission or a nominal fee of $3.14 for tomorrow's events. . . . High school seniors will also find out if they got into MIT at exactly 9:26 a.m. Keeping my fingers crossed for all who applied--only a select group is granted admission to this elite institution. Check your area's event calendars for more information.

I should also mention that today is Friday the 13th, also known as "Black Friday." The superstition surrounding this day probably traces back to the Middle Ages. The story supposedly originates from The Last Supper, in which there were 13 individuals in the Upper Room right before Jesus's death on Good Friday. The scientific name for the fear of the number 13 is triskaidekaphobia. In many buildings, the number "13" is missing from the elevator.

There will some changes to this blog. Going forward, we will publish milestone birthdays only, and I will only feature certain Holidaze on our Facebook page. I will also resume with more Women's History Fun Facts next week. 

Celebrating milestone birthdays next week are: 

Happy 30th!
Kelian Lutz (3/15)

Happy 40th!
will.i.am. (3/15)
Eva Longeria (3/15)
Sutton Foster (3/18)

Happy 60th!
Dee Snider (3/15)
Isabelle Huppert (3/16)
Mark Boone, Jr. (3/17)
Paul Overstreet (3/17)
Gary Sinese (3/17)
Bruce Willis (3/19)

Happy 65th!
William Hurt (3/20)
Carl Palmer  (3/20)
Roger Hogdson (3/21)

Happy 75th!
Phil Lesh (3/15)

Happy 80th! 
Judd Hirsch (3/15)

I should also give special to notice for two comic legends who are celebrating birthdays next week. On Monday (3/16), Jerry Lewis turns 89, and on Wednesday (3/20), we will celebrate Carl Reiner's 93rd birthday! Click here for a complete list of next week's celebrity birthdays.

Here is today's Freebie Friday, a St. Patrick's Day word scrambler for the kids. As usual, just right-click to download and print. This game is for personal use only. Please also see below the answers to last week's Women's History Month game.

I'm happy to say that as of this afternoon, I am a member of the Women Owned Business Club. This is an organization that helps women to promote their businesses through social media. Its members welcomed me with open arms on Facebook and I am look forward to getting to know my fellow entrepreneurs. I guess "Black Friday" wasn't so unlucky for me after all.

Have a PRINTASTIC weekend!

Kathy