On July 1, we'll be halfway through the year. Is it just me, or do the years seem to be passing faster? My head is still in 2016!
July hosts a lot of independence and national days, beginning with Canada Day on July 1 (1867) and on July 4 (1776) Independence Day in the United States. I will list more of those a little further down.
GENERAL THEMES IN JULY
Down under, Australia observes Dry July, a challenge to abstain from alcohol for the month. The followers of the 45th American president observe MAGA Month, and 170 countries globally take the challenge of Plastic Free July. Food takes center stage during July. It's Grilling Month, Picnic Month, Ice Cream Month, Hot Dog Month, Horseradish Month, Watermelon Month, and Culinary Arts Month, to name just a few. Reunions, family, hot weather safety (Northern Hemisphere), cold weather safety (Southern Hemisphere), and travel round out the other primary themes.
In addition to Canada and the United States, Independence Days occur in:
Algeria (July 5, 1962)
Argentina (July 9, 1816)
Bahamas (July 10, 1973)
Belgium (July 21, 1831)
Burundi (July 1, 1962)
Cape Verde (July 5, 1975)
Columbia (July 20, 1810)
Comoros (July 6, 1975)
Kiribati (July 12, 1979)
Liberia (July 26, 1847)
Maldives (July 26, 1965)
Peru (July 28, 1821)
Rwanda (July 1, 1962)
São Tomé and Príncipe (July 12, 1975)
Solomon Islands (July 7, 1978)
South Sudan (July 9, 2011)
Vanuatu (July 30, 1980)
Venezuela (July 5, 1811)
Constitution Day will be celebrated in:
Puerto Rico (July 25, 1952)
South Korea (July 17, 1948)
Uruguay (July 18, 1830)
National Day occurs in:
Cuba (July 26, 1953)
Somalia (July 1, 1960)
And Liberation Day is celebrated in:
Nicaragua (July 19, 1979)
Suriname (July 1, 1863)
Guam (July 21, 1944)
Obviously, a lot of people will be celebrating globally this month, including me. Let's kick off this issue with big cats.
BORN FREE CAT NAP
Dates: July 3-9, 2023 (or anytime during the month)
Location: United Kingdom
Champion: Born Free Foundation
Born Free Cat Nap highlights the plight of the world's largest felines (and an endangered species). This fundraiser asks people to submit pictures of napping cats to social media. The best/funniest becomes the spokescat for the following year's event.
(Yes, this is the same Born Free as the movie and the hit song showcasing Elsa, the lion, and her cubs during the 1970s—for those of us of a certain age who remember.)
Additional activities include wearing cat-themed PJs and sponsoring sleep-ins. Born Free Cat Nap is a freeform fundraising event, meaning dates for localized cat naps may occur any time in July.
INTERNATIONAL CHORAL KATHAUMIXW
Dates: July 4-8, 2023
Location: Powell River, British Columbia, Canada
Champion: International Choral Kathaumixw
The International Choral Kathaumixw is a prestigious choral festival, and competition held biennially in Canada. Founded in 1984 by conductor Don James, the event brings together choirs, conductors, and vocal ensembles worldwide to celebrate and promote choral music. The name "Kathaumixw" is derived from the Tla'amin Nation's language and translates to "a gathering together of different peoples."
The multi-day festival features various choral performances, workshops, and masterclasses led by internationally renowned choral professionals. Participants learn from each other, exchange ideas, and experience diverse cultures through music. The festival's highlight is a spirited competition in which choirs and ensembles vie for awards in several categories, including mixed, male, female, chamber, youth, and vocal ensembles.
Choral Kathaumixw has grown in size and reputation since its inception and is one of the world's premier choral events and competitions. Participants come from all over the world to represent their countries, schools, and organizations, fostering international friendships and cultural exchange, spiced with an exceptional showcase for choral music.
DONATE LIFE ECHO
Dates: July 9-22, 2023
Location: United States
Champion: Donate Life America; Association for Multicultural Affairs in Transplantation (AMAT)
Donate Life ECHO (Every Community Has Opportunity) is an annual two-week awareness and donor attraction campaign focusing on organ, eye, and tissue donation within multicultural communities in the United States.
The primary goal of Donate Life ECHO is to emphasize the importance of donation and transplantation in diverse communities, which often face higher rates of chronic conditions that can lead to a greater need for transplants. ECHO works with community leaders, healthcare professionals, and donation advocates to promote organ, eye, and tissue donation education and encourage individuals from all cultural backgrounds to register as donors.
Donate Life ECHO encourages conversations around the subject, helping to dispel myths and misconceptions about donation and transplantation while celebrating the generosity of multicultural donors and their families and the lives saved through transplantation.
DUELING ROBIN HOOD FESTIVALS
Date: July 21-22, 2023 (Oregon);
July 22-23, 2023 (England)
Locations: Sherwood, Oregon, US; Nottingham, England, UK.
Champions: Sherwood Robin Hood Festival; City of Nottingham
These events take the idea of a sister city to a new level. Concurrently, Sherwood, Oregon, and Nottingham, England, hold Robin Hood-themed festivals. In England, Nottingham Archery Tournament & Festival. In Oregon, step back into the 12th century with music, food, knights, and ladies for the Robin Hood Festival. Archers compete in both locations (across the pond), and attendees rejoice. The Sherwood Festival came about in 1956 due to a friendly challenge between the yeoman of Nottingham and the festival president in Sherwood.
From the event champion's website:
"In February 1956, the president of the Robin Hood Festival Association of Sherwood, Oregon, issued an archery challenge to the yeomen of Nottingham, England. The archers would come from the entire Northwestern part of the United States. To cement their bond with the people of Nottingham, England, Sherwood sent 50 redwood oak trees as a living memorial.
In March 1956, England accepted the challenge and immediately started working out the details. The rounds would be a double American 810, and each round would be 90 arrows at the distance of 60, 50, and 40 yards and follow the FITA. equipment rules.
In July 1956, a picture of the silver Tiffany bowl trophy donated by the Robin Hood Festival Association was sent to Nottingham, England, along with communication rules during the shoot. Both competitions occurred on the same day, but England was shooting eight hours later due to time differences. Thus went the first competition, and the mayor of Sherwood has sent a new challenge each year since."
RAIN DAY EVENT & FESTIVAL
Date: July 29, 2023
Location: Waynesburg, Pennsylvania, United States
Champion: Waynesburg, Pennsylvania
National Rain Day originated in 1873 and picked up steam in the 1930s through newspaper articles. It is a bit of summer fun at its height, somewhat like groundhog day. Will it rain or not? Will he see his shadow or not?
The day centers on the town of Waynesburg, Pennsylvania, and began with a bet, a hat being the prize. Since the late 1800s, the people of Waynesburg believed it always rains on July 29. Though not quite every year, the odds are in their favor. Since 1873, it has rained on July 29 in Waynesburg 80% of the time.
If it rains, the hat stays with Waynesburg; if not, it goes to another city. The Rain Day Festival, which has grown significantly in size and scope, began in 1979.
999 DAY
Date: July 1 (1937), 2023
Location: United Kingdom
Champion: Historical Anniversary
July 1, 1937, saw the world's first emergency telephone number deployed in London, covering a 12-mile radius from Oxford Circus. It would be another 31 years before the US would implement a similar system, 911, and even longer for other nations. 999 Day celebrates this anniversary.
The idea of 999 was first suggested in 1935 after five women died during a fire on Wimpole Street in London. Callers using 0 to dial the police could not get through as the switchboard was jammed. By the time people got through, it was too late.
The first 999 calls came in on July 2, 1937, with the system fielding 1336 calls in its first week.
TRAVEL TIP: If traveling internationally, always ask for that country's emergency number(s) when you go through customs and add them to your phone, or write it/them on a PostIt note and keep it in your passport. For example, in China, Japan, New Zealand, and Saudi Arabia, it is 110, but in neighboring United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, it is 999. In Argentina, Canada, Jordan, Mexico, Palau, Panama, the Philippines, the United States, and Uruguay, it is 911. Travel to Australia and you'll need 000. Some countries get complicated. Take France, for example. In France, dial 17 for the police, 15 for an ambulance, and 18 for the fire department.
It can get really confusing, and in the event of an emergency, you don't want to call the wrong number accidentally and waste precious seconds. You'll also want to keep your nation's embassy contact information for each country you visit. Should you get in trouble, your country's diplomatic services will be your second call after emergency services.
CALGARY STAMPEDE
Date: July 7-16, 2023
Location: Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Champion: Calgary Exhibition & Stampede
The Calgary Stampede is the world's largest rodeo, drawing over one million people annually and nicknamed "The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth."
The event's roots date back to 1886 when the Calgary and District Agricultural Society held its first fair. Beginning in 1912, American promoter Guy Weadick organized a rodeo and festival called The Stampede. When he returned in 1919 following World War I, he organized the Victory Stampede in honor of soldiers returning from the war.
The modern version of the Calgary Stampede began in 1923 when it merged with the Calgary Industrial Exhibition to create the Calgary Exhibition and Stampede. The 10-day event includes:
Competitions including bull riding
Barrel racing
Steer wrestling
Tie-down roping
Winners receive significant prize money, and the ultimate winner receives the coveted Calgary Stampede Championship buckle, one of the highest awards on the rodeo circuit.
In addition to the rodeo, the Calgary Stampede includes a large parade, midway rides and games, concerts, agricultural competitions, chuckwagon races, First Nations exhibitions, and various stage shows. An attendee highlight is the Stampede breakfasts held in neighborhoods throughout the city with free food and entertainment.
BIKINI DAY
Date: July 5 (1946), 2023
Location: Worldwide
Champion: Historical Anniversary
Bikini Day on July 5 is the anniversary of the aquatic clothing style that has enchanted men and terrified women into dieting for nearly five generations. The term "bikini" was coined by French automotive engineer Louis Réard in 1946 after the Bikini Atoll, a site in the Pacific used to test atomic bombs. He believed his two-piece swimwear would create an "explosive" cultural reaction akin to an atomic bomb.
Réard's design was not the first two-piece swimsuit. Archaeological evidence, including Roman mosaics, show women wearing small two-piece garments during athletic events as early as 300 AD.
Swimming as a leisure activity didn't catch on until the 19th century. In 1837, London opened its first public swimming pool. The Metropolitan Swimming Clubs of London, established in the 1860s, held regular swimming competitions. Though now considered recreation and sport, swimwear followed current fashions with modesty as a requirement.
Following World War I, swimsuits, like fashion, became less conservative. By the early 1940s, two-piece bathing suits were available, but they still covered the navel and a woman's posterior.
Réard's bikini, introduced in Paris on July 5, 1946, was a radically streamlined design. It was so small that Réard claimed it wasn't a genuine bikini unless you could pull it through a wedding ring. Despite its initial controversy due to its revealing design, the bikini gained broad acceptance by the 1950s and 1960s, particularly in films, with celebrities, and in fashion magazines.
The 1960s saw the rise of the "Monokini," a topless swimsuit designed by Rudi Gernreich, and later, the "Microkini," an even more revealing style. While these styles did not gain the same level of popularity as the bikini, they represented the ongoing trend toward more revealing swimwear.
By the 21st century, the bikini became a multi-billion-dollar industry. It remains a staple of beachwear fashion in many parts of the world, and its impact extends beyond swimwear, influencing lingerie, activewear, and general fashion trends.
JULY SPORTING EVENTS
July is a big month for sports, with the annual ESPY Awards (Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Award) on July 12, 2023. Additional global sporting highlights include:
Sports Summer X Games (Multi-sport): July 21-23—United States
Grand Prix of Austria (Car racing): July 2—Austria
Grand Prix of Belgium (Car racing): July 30—Belgium
Grand Prix of Great Britain (Car racing): July 9—United Kingdom
Men's Tour de France (Cycling): July 1-23—France
MLB All-Star Game (Baseball): July 11—United States
Netball World Cup: July 28-August 6—South Africa
Running of the Bulls: July 6-14—Spain
Summer World University Games (Multi-sport): July 28 - August 8—Russia/China
The British Open Championship (Golf): July 20-23—United Kingdom
Torneo della Quintana (Jousting): July 8—Italy
Wimbledon (Tennis): July 3-16—England
Women's Tour de France (Cycling): July 23-30—France
Women's World Cup (Football): July 10-August 20—Australia/New Zealand
World Aquatics Championships (Swimming): July 14-30—Japan
World Police and Fire Games (Multi-sport): July 28-August 6—Canada
FEATURED EVENT
AUTONOMY REVOCATION OF HONG KONG
Date: July 1 (2020), 2023
Location: China
Champion: Historical Anniversary
In 2020, China implemented a new national security law in Hong Kong that effectively revoked the region's autonomy while granting the Chinese government broad powers to crack down on any activity deemed a threat to national security, including peaceful protests and dissent.
Many in Hong Kong and the international community have criticized the national security law for its potential to undermine Hong Kong's autonomy and erode the civil liberties guaranteed under the "one country, two systems" policy. This policy began when Hong Kong was returned to China from British rule in 1997 and aimed to ensure that Hong Kong would retain a high degree of autonomy and preserve its own legal and economic systems for 50 years.
In addition to the national security law, the Chinese government implemented additional policies and practices that have raised concerns about Hong Kong's autonomy. For example, China disqualified pro-democracy lawmakers from participating in the Hong Kong legislature, delayed local elections, and increased pressure on media outlets critical of the Chinese government.
These actions have led to protests and international condemnation. Critics argue that China's efforts attempt to quash dissent and undermine Hong Kong's autonomy. In contrast, supporters of China's actions argue that they are necessary to maintain stability and national security. To this day, the situation in Hong Kong remains highly contentious and uncertain.
MY EXPERIENCE WITH HONG KONG
(Written July 15, 2020)
I benefitted directly from the British handover of Hong Kong to China in 1997. When announced in the early 1990s, the wealthy of Hong Kong bought real estate in Northern Washington State and Canada. At the time, I worked in advertising for the Washington Post's Everett Herald in Seattle on the Real Estate desk.
Seattle avoided the recession of the early 1990s because of this real estate boom. I developed and ran the first all-Asian ad campaign for the paper, featuring a development called Lakewood Commons, in 1994. With that campaign, we drew 64 couples and sold eight homes in a single weekend.
In 2005, I visited mainland China and Hong Kong. I fell in love with the city and fell out of love with my fiancé on the same trip. Having massive jet lag, I walked the streets alone at 2 AM and felt completely safe. It is a unique city, unlike any other. Mainland China starkly contrasts Hong Kong's pristine, clean streets, multi-culturalism, Sunday street churches held by Filipino immigrants, and dueling skyscrapers. Seriously, the buildings are dueling. On top of many are various effigies of weapons aimed at rivals. A canon on top of one bank aimed at the front door of a rival. A giant crossbow threatens another. Then there are the feng shui touches, views, and angles everywhere to promote luck and ward off evil spirits. It's the unseen Hong Kong that only a native can explain, and it's fascinating and charming.
JULY 1, 2020
Few events sadden me more than the past two weeks as I've watched Hong Kong's autotomy disappear and its fragile freedom decimated by the former communist, now the quasi-capitalist authoritarian government in Beijing. Hong Kong will never be the same, and the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada are attempting to offer alternatives to the people of Hong Kong.
Usually, colonialism does not bode well for colonized. Hong Kong is the exception during the latter half of the 20th century. It was an island of freedom in a sea of censorship, conformity, and control. China vowed to give it fifty years before it threw the city under the bus of authoritarianism. Hong Kong made it just twenty-three.
Hong Kong will never be the center of international commerce it was. The nature of authoritarianism, with its constant surveillance, cultivated thought, and action, destroys creativity and ingenuity. It creates uncertainty, fear, and self-censorship, which does not bode well for innovation. People who can leave will exit. Hopefully, with the lifelines from the commonwealth nations, the people of Hong Kong will avoid absolute oppression. Already, publishers are editing their books to conform to the new rules. Over 600 people are under arrest for various forms of protest or association.
July 1, 2020, saw the end of Hong Kong 28 years early. It marks the end of an era, and I wonder if the city I fell in love with will ever be the same.
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And that is a wrap for this issue. Thank you again for the gift of your time! The next issue will be Part II of Food, and it will be out toward the end of June. Please like, and share; if you're not a subscriber, please join us by subscribing!