 :: Monday, March 22, 2004 :: Big Brother, Little Brother: A Special Cariboued Supersized Just a quick little nod for my little brother as he writes his own strange little entry into the history books. SUPER CARIBOU Some people end up doing amazing things with their lives, they create great works of art, others create political movements that change the world, others build whole religions off a single thought. Some build economic empires that spread the world over, some go out and educate, and change the world. Ten years ago with one of his best friends my brother started a joke that seems to have gotten out of hand. And it may actually be one of the all time great achievements. March 23rd will be Day Of The Wandering Caribou (DOTWC) celebrated at the Manoir in Pointe-Claire and elsewhere around the world. Last year there were close to over 1000 participants world wide. From a silly adolescent attempt at a mind fuck, my little brother Sean and his cohort now known as G spent a day convincing people that March 23rd was the International Day of The Wandering Caribou, simply a fun and silly thing to do when you’re 15. This year it will be the official 10th anniversary of that day, a holiday that has had satellite celebrations in Poland, Halifax, Sydney Australia, and London, England. The joke has evolved into an actual holiday for some (myself included) based on the concept of a drinking holiday, but this one doesn’t belong to one single minority or religion, but to everyone, earning enough notoriety for several notices in the press and to actually have provincial MPs make face time at the celebrations. Although billed as a drinking holiday (memories of my brother drunkenly moaning “car-eee-Booooo” in the back of the car, and tag lines of “St. Paddy’s Day is Just a Warm-up”) the central idea that seems to be lying at its centre is to simple get together and have a good time and make some new friends, and reacquaint yourself with old friends. The central DOTWC celebration is actually the biggest payout day for The Manoir in Pointe-Claire, so much so that they even opened on a Sunday for the holiday last year. With events like Fastest Chug, Lady’s Chug, Most Creative Chug, and Biggest Beer Gut, for custom made Tee-shirt awards, and celebrants ranging in age from their teens into their 70’s and 80’s. This is a celebration in the name of good times, and fun with friends. This is my brother and G’s Andy Kaufman like joke, and their goal is to make it a national holiday by the time they die. I think it could be one of the greatest works of art to seep into the world. So if you’re in Montreal on the 23rd come on out and join in on the fun, and if you’re elsewhere go out with friends and celebrate yourselves and let us know about it. For all the information you could ever want visit www.wanderingcaribou.com . *** Oh yeah, guess what else. Saturday was the first anniversary of Supersized. But I’ll get to that, San Francisco, and other stuff on Thursday. -Jay 12:04 AM + Jay D'Ici + permalink |