Dressing Up - A Goodland tradition

For Years Thursday night was dress-up night at the Little Bar. A theme would be decided on and the word would spread thru town...Vegetables or sports or song titles,etc. Little Bar owner’s Ray and his sister Nicki were eager participants as well as planners. I always wondered what the folks from the Marco Island Marriott thought when their server appeared with curlers in her hair, wearing pajamas and fuzzy bunny slippers. They would take a peek at the crowd in the bar on their way out the door and we locals would be there, all similarly dressed. Even Ratty, a grotesque rubber creature with a beer can in one paw, would be in proper attire. After ratty was kidnapped, a stuffed otter (road kill that died in Ray’s arms) became the bar’s mascott.

In Goodland any excuse for a party is a good one. In July the Little Bar hosts the Spammajammyramalama. The purpose is to appease the hurricane goddess. Spam is the theme because everyone has a can on hand to eat if the power goes out. Pajamas are required because hurricanes usually hit at night. Prizes are awarded for creative Spam food items, Spam architecture, Spam artwork, etc.

Halloween is like a holiday made for Goodland. First we have the pumpkin carving contest which has produced some marvelous artwork. The Halloween party itself is always an outrageous affair, which gives Ray the perfect excuse to dress up. The goddess Mali was his best effort.

Check out the look on the luncheon diner’s faces in this photo. They must be wondering, ‘who is this madman, anyway?’

The 2006 2nd annual broom dance (the first having been 20 years prior) was a great success. I thought my broom Hilda (that’s broom-Hilda of course) would be a winner, but I again underestimated the talent I was competing with. Next year I’ll have to think a little more out-of-the-box.

So I knew the idea of a daytime boat parade would be a success. Unlike the Marco Christmas boat parade where the biggest investment in lighting wins the prize, the participants in the Mardi Gras boat parade would have to be more creative. But I was not prepared for the enthusiasm and originality that goes into the preparation for the boat parade. It is truly a community event, with neighbors helping each other by contributing their own personal skill. Like the year when the theme was TV shows and our boat was in honor of the Howdy-Doody show. We gave a block of foam to a friend and she carved the life-size head for the puppet. There is also very strong competition. Boater’s sneak around checking out each others props and decorations and then head home to come up with more of their own. Chain saws are buzzing and hammers hammering for weeks leading up to the event. Last year we added a new prize to the parade called the founder’s trophy. It’s something that I award to whichever boater strikes my fancy based on no scientific scoring system whatsoever. Last year (theme being Countries of the World) the award when to boater Jim Miller and his friend Tammy for the Antarctica boat, complete with snow covered pine trees, a penguin on an ice flow and snowballs hurled at the crowds.

You can’t imagine how shocking it is to drive down a street in Florida in February and see people flocking Christmas trees in their front yard. Even a local policeman stopped by to ask them what in the world they were doing. When it comes to decorations and dressing up, you can’t beat Goodland.