Can’t believe I let 2 months tick off the calendar before sharing my pictures from Intercourse Heritage Days.

If you’re new to these parts, I live in Intercourse, PA and every June there’s a huge celebration at the park near our house filled with lots of food and lots of Amish folk. It’s called Intercourse Heritage Days, and it’s a hoot.

Here’s some visuals from this year’s event.

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23 years ago I was a scrawny 6th grader with bald armpits, a big nose, and a squeaky high voice.

I signed up for the spelling bee that year and I knew my word list well. I knew vacuum had one ‘c’, I knew rhythm had no traditional vowels, and I knew the longest word they could test us on was electroencephalograph.

The day of the bee came, and before I knew it I was standing in front of the microphone for my word.

“Diphthong,” the moderator said.

“Diphthong,” I stuttered, “D-I-P-T-H-O-N-G. Diphthong.”

*ding*

I was confused. I thought I had spelled it correctly. Why the heck is there another ‘h’ in that word?

Fast forward 23 years to this past weekend at the Annual Heritage Days celebration.

I was 4th in line for the 16 and older spelling bee, awaiting my turn. The first 2 words were easy: “appellate” and “bazaar”. I would have nailed both, but the contestants got them wrong. The next word, “carafe” was a tough one. I couldn’t remember if there was one ‘f’ or two. The woman in front of me spelled it ‘karaf’. Good grief.

Then it was my turn. I stepped up to the mic and THIS is what happened.

(you’ll need to turn your volume WAY up because the volume is low.)

A couple things to note:

1. Did you catch the Amish Volleyball happening in the background? Classic.

2. Did you catch my word? It was “diphtheria”, and ONCE AGAIN, I missed the first ‘h’!

3. If you listen closely, the moderator misspells the word without the last ‘i’ when he repeats it back. maybe i should protest?

4. Two decades later and I still hadn’t heard my lesson. Diphthong and Diphtheria, 23 years apart. What are the stinking chances?

5. Next year that spelling bee is MINE.

(thanks for taking the video, Than)

Good food, good friends, and stealing the souls of the Amish with my Canon XT. That’s what Heritage Days is all about to me.

For the past few years we’ve descended upon the park near our house in Intercourse, PA mid-June for Intercourse Heritage Days. We always have a good time, and I always get some good shots for the blog. Tonight and tomorrow when we’re chilling at the park I am expecting more of the same.

If you’re new to BryanAllain.com, here’s some linkage to past Heritage Days posts.

Heritage Days 2009 – Part 1 and Part 2

Heritage Days 2008 – Part 1 and Part 2

have a great weekend, y’all!

…continued from Part 1.

This was the woman who won the Shoofly Pie contest.

Notice the bald spot in her part?

Erica tells me it’s because amish women pull their hair down so tightly every day.

Kinda sad…let’s move on…

The 2009 Volleyball Tournament included over 40 teams.

How do you know when things are getting serious?

1. When shirts start getting untucked.

& 2. When amish kids are wearing wristbands.

This dude remembers when his body was young enough to play volleyball.

But years of working the land and avoiding technology takes quite a toll on a man.

(and for those of you who wonder why the amish wear suspenders instead of belts…

…it’s so you can stick your hands in your pants whenever you like.)

Am I contractually obligated to go with “pretty maids all in a row” for this photo?

Yes, I think I am.

This is my neice, Avery, enjoying some homemade Lapp Valley ice cream.

0% Amish.

100% cute.

Dish soap, bucket, water, hay, and gravity.

This is probably stretching the definition of “station” a bit too far, no?

Here’s a couple pushing around a tiny dog in a pink stroller.

I will now kill myself.

She knew there would be consequences for her actions.

Kissing that non-Amish boy last month was a mistake.

But being forced to wear the Scarlet Dress of Shame during Heritage Days weekend?

Let them judge her…his kiss was electric and totally worth it.

Finally, I asked someone to snap this photo of me before I said goodbye to the 2009 edition of  Intercourse Heritage Days.

Santa Claus in the middle of June?

Yup.

Welcome to Intercouse.

Last weekend was the annual Intercourse Heritage Days Festival held conveniently at Intercourse Park, which is a 5-minute walk from our house. I picture-blogged about the event last year, so I thought I’d do it again this year. Here we go…

For the second year in a row Anne Beiler was a judge of the shoofly pie contest. Anne is the founder of Auntie Anne’s pretzels, and a bit of a local celebrity. Despite the fact that she’s been on Oprah, spoke at the RNC last year, and is a published author, she’s very down to earth and super sweet. My wife Erica actually works at the Family Center that Anne and her husband opened last year, so after I took this picture we were talking about how amazing my wife is.

“She just lights up the room when she’s there. She’s a joy to have at the Family Center,” Anne said.

“I know,” I replied, “I get to live with her!”

The brand new Erica Fan Club: 2 members and growing!

This 5-piece band rocked the house park with their unique brand of Screamo-Bluegrass.

The highlight of their set was definitely their cover of “November Rain” by Guns-n-Roses.

When yellow-shirt hit that Slash solo, I cried like a toddler at the dentist.

If only I had a picture of the crowd, because they were out of control.

Oh wait, I do…

Like I said: Out of control.

His is amish cigarettes.

Mine is electricity.

Hey, we all have our vices.

Does this picture of Parker look familiar to you?

If so, it’s because it is almost identical to last year’s picture:

Side Note: Looks like the Tractor Man discovered Just For Men.

Good for him!

I went over to find the clown and I found this sign.

a few thoughts…

1. why is Strolling capitalized? Is that his name?

2. Why is “The Clown” in quotations and in such a small font? Does his clowndom qualify as fine print? Is he not really a clown?

3. The bad news: this sign is kinda creepy. The good news:  if he ever switches occupations from clown to stalker, he can keep using the same sign.

Ah, there’s Sneakers our “clown” providing his own interpretation of an Amish Hat.

The little boy next in line doesn’t seem so sure.

I’ve got to say, I don’t think this will catch on with the amish adults AT ALL.

Okay, I stand corrected. He’s already got his first 21+ customer.

Finally, here’s a who’s who in this picture:

1. In the stripes on the left it’s State Representative Bryan Cutler, looking like he’s 17.

2. In the green sweater it’s a woman with a notebook. She’s reporting on the event. I’m reporting on her.

3. In the gold and blue high tops, it’s the next point guard for UCLA basketball.

4. In the amish dress, it’s a woman about to pick her nose.

5. Carrying the Vitamin Water, it’s Neo from the Matrix. He’s about to break out of his goo pod.

—

Well, that’s all for today.

But come back tomorrow for part 2 of the 2009 Intercourse Heritage Days PictureBlog.