HI! hugs Sorry, this is the monthly long one. But first!
There are three (3) birfdays listed for this week on the Unofficial Birthday List
- Totem is forty-five *Today!* (Sunday, July 24th) *Happy Birfday!*
- FireDragon will be thirty-nine on Tuesday (July 26th.) And
- MacX will be forty-three on Friday (July 29th.)
Many Happy Returns of your day!
On the Local Events Desk, there’s not much, just the Oshawa Virtual Furmeet. As usual, it will happen on Friday from 9:00 PM until whenever. (There is often an “after dark” version on Saturdays from 8:00 PM until whenever.) But in case they have to cancel, please check their social media.
- Telegram, https://t.me/oshawavrmeet
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/OshawaFurmeet
Two Furry conventions are happening this weekend.
- CanFURence, July 29th to 31st, Ottawa, ON
- Free Fur All*, July 29th to 31st, Glenpool, OK
*(Please note that I only list these conventions. I do not personally endorse any of them.)
https://web.aw.ca/en/our-values/our-community/burgerstobeatms
On the Holidays and Occasions Desk, today (Sunday, July 24th ) is Pioneer Day, a Mormon celebration of Joseph Smith’s caravan of Mormon pioneers arriving at the Great Salt Lake in Utah, beyond the reach of those back east who persecuted them. Today is also Rohina Vrat, a Jainist purification ritual. And if nothing goes wrong, today will be the start of the Big Papal Visit; His Holiness will apologize for everything His church did to aboriginal Canadians until the 29th.
Tomorrow (Monday, July 25th) will be St. James the Great Day, the feast day of the first of Jesus’s apostles to be martyred. Tomorrow will also be Jashan of Amurdad, a Zoroastrian celebration of the creation of plants. Tomorrow will be The Furrinalia; see below. And tomorrow will be Kitchen Sink Day, a day of celebration for anything that doesn’t have its own day. You may celebrate whatever you like within that rule; this year’s randomly generated suggestions are distribution and engines.
The Furrinalia is a day of celebration for Furrina. She’s a mostly forgotten Roman goddess of freshwater springs, fountains, headwaters and so forth. Not much is known about Her or how She was worshipped. Her cult wasn’t well known even in Her day. But with a name like Furrina, she’s a natural patron for Furry. (As a Goddess of springs, I think She should be portrayed as a river otter, but I’m probably biased.)
Tuesday, (July 26th) will be Esperanto Day, the anniversary of the publication of the first book in Esperanto, Unua Libro, in 1887. Tuesday will also be International Day for the Conservation of the Mangrove Ecosystem. (It’s an otter thing. Lots of otters live in those swamps. There’s plenty of feesh and places to hide.)
On Wednesday (July 27th), nothing, in particular, will happen. However, it will be the anniversary of Frederick Banting and Charles Best isolating insulin from dog’s pancreases in 1921. Their discovery saved millions of human lives. OTOH, their experiments were awfully rough on a lot of dogs.
Thursday, (July 28th) will be the Day of Commemoration of the Great Upheaval, a day of recognition for the Expulsion of the Acadians from The Maritimes between 1755 and 1764. Thursday will also be the start of Toronto Caribana; it ends on August 1st. Thursday will be Earth Overshoot Day; on this date, humans will have used up all of the biological resources that the Earth can regenerate during the entire year. Thursday will be World Hepatitis Day. And Thursday will be Beatrix Potter‘s Birfday; the author and illustrator of “The Tale of Peter Rabbit” and 22 other beloved children’s stories, she would have been 156.
Sunset on Friday (July 29th) will be Muharram or Al-Hijra, new years day in the Islamic calendar. Friday will also be International Tiger Day, a day to remember that these beautiful, intelligent animals are dying everywhere they used to live. And Friday will be Don’t Be A Dick Day, Wil Wheaton’s 50th birthday. It is devoted to Wheaton’s Law which simply states, “Don’t be a dick.”
Saturday, (July 30th) will be Food Day Canada, a day to celebrate Canada having a food supply of its own and encourage Canadians to use it. And Saturday will be the International Day of Friendship.
And heads-up for next Sunday (July 31st.) It will be National Mutt Day and the Feast of St. Ignatius Loyola. And next Monday (August 1st) will be Civic Holiday Monday, Lughnasadh and/or Lammas, a Fast in Honour of Holy Mother of Jesus, Emancipation Day, Girl Friends Day, World Scout Scarf Day and Universal Birthday for Shelter Dogs.
August begins next week. Holidays, Occasions and Local Events for August include:
- August 1st – Civic Holiday Monday, Lughnasadh/Lammas (Pagan), Lammas (Christian), Fast in Honour of Holy Mother of Jesus (Orthodox), Emancipation Day, Girl Friends Day, World Scout Scarf Day, Universal Birthday for Shelter Dogs
- – August 1st to 6th – World Breastfeeding Week
- August 3rd – Esther Day
- August 4th – The 50th anniversary of the Ugandan Asian Resettlement
- August 5th (sunset) – Shabbat Chazon (Jewish)
- August 5th – International Beer Day, Ant Day
- August 6th (sunrise) – Tish’a B’Av
- August 6th – Transfiguration Day (Orthodox), Hiroshima Day, A&W Free Root Beer Float Day
- August 7th (sunset) – Ashura (Islam)
- August 7th to 13th – International Assistance Dog Week
- August 8th – International Day of the Female Orgasm, Vore Day, International Cat Day (aka World Cat Day), Scottish Wildcat Day
- August 9th – Nagasaki Day, International Day of the World’s Indigenous People, National Peacekeepers Day
- August 10th – World Lion Day, International Biodiesel Day
- August 11th (sunset) – Tu B’Av (Jewish)
- August 11th – Raksha Bandhan (Hindu), Dogbomb and Sarah Day, Full Moon (21:36, Sturgeon Moon, Red Moon, Green Corn Moon, Grain Moon)
- August 11th to 15th – Muktad (Zoroastrian)
- August 12th (sunset) – Shabbat Nachamu (Jewish)
- August 12th – Varalakshmi Vrat (Hindu), Zaraday (Discordian), International Youth Day, World Elephant Day, Quantum Cat Day
- August 13th – Hamaspathmaidyem Gahambar (Zoroastrian), International Left-Handers Day, International Wolf Day
- August 13th to 15th – Obon (Buddhist)
- August 14th – World Lizard Day
- August 15th – National Acadian Day, Assumption Day (Christian), Dormition of the Theotokos (Orthodox)
- August 16th – Navroze (Zoroastrian), St. Roch of Montpellier (Furry saint)
- August 17th – Marcus Garvey’s Birfday, Black Cat Appreciation Day, St. Mamas (aka Mammes – Furry saint)
- August 18th – A&W Burgers to Beat MS
- August 19th – Krishna Janmashtami (Hindu), World Orangutan Day, World Humanitarian Day, Polygamy Day, World Photography Day
- August 20th – Rohini Vrat (Jainist), World Stray Animals Day, World Honey Bee Day, World Mosquito Day
- August 21st – Khordad Sal (Zoroastrian)
- August 22nd to 26th – Public Service Pride Week
- August 23rd – Paryushana Parvarambha (Jainist)
- August 24th – International Day Against Intolerance, Discrimination and Violence Based on Musical Preferences, Lifestyle and Dress Code
- August 25th – Linux Birthday
- August 26th – Jizō Bon (Mahayana Buddhist), Spirit Day (aka Wear It Purple Day), International Dog Day
- August 26th to 28th – International Bat Nights
- August 27th (sunset) – Rosh Hashana LaBehemot (Jewish)
- August 28th – International Go Topless Day, International Read Comics In Public Day, Otter Appreciation Day(?)
- August 29th – Beheading of John the Baptist (Christian), International Day Against Nuclear Tests
- August 30th – International Whale Shark Day
- August 31st – Ganesh Chaturthi (Hindu), Samvatsari Parva (Jainist), International Overdose Awareness Day
- September 1st – St. Giles (Furry saint)
August will also be National Wellness Month for pets, National Immunization Awareness Month and “Rawgust,” (a movement to feed your pets raw foods.) It will also be MedicAlert Awareness Month and Psoriasis Awareness Month worldwide (but no monthly causes in Canada.) Watch for canvassers.
There are thirteen Furry conventions in August.
- Fantastic Furry Festival, August 5th to 7th, Guadalajara, Mexico
- Megaplex, August 5th to 7th, Orlando, FL
- Super Furry Fusion, August 5th to 7th, Shanghai, PRC
- Wisconsin Wilderness Campout, August 5th to 7th, Astico County Park, Columbus, WI
- Campfire Tails, August 11th to 15th, La Pine, Oregon
- Argentina FurFiesta, August 12th to 14th, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Wild Prairies Fur Con, August 12th to 14th, Winnipeg, Manitoba
- Barkade, August 13th, The Heart of Gaming in East Croydon, London, UK
- DenFur, August 19th to 21st, Denver, CO
- EuroFurence, August 24th to 28th, Berlin, Germany
- Camp Feral!, August 25th to 29th, Algonquin Park, Ontario
- Furrydelphia, August 26th to 28th, Philadelphia, PAFurthest North
- IndyFurCon, August 26th to 28th, Indianapolis, TN
…and heads-up for Furthest North, September 1st to 5th, Snow Creek Group Campground, Alberta
This is the last update of the month, so the complete Unofficial Birthday List is REDACTED. And if you want to be on the Unofficial Birthday List, or if you’d prefer to be removed or have your entry changed, email me at dotter8@gmail.com, and I’ll fix it for you promptly. *I WILL NOT ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR REQUESTS SENT IN ANY OTHER WAY!* (Requests must include the name you are or want to be entered under so that I know which “Jim Smith” to change to “Honking Camel. “) Please note that the UBL is *NOT* linked to the TorFur list; if you change or delete your TorFur entry, you must notify me separately. Also, it’s my policy never to add people to the UBL unless they ask to be added, changed or removed themselves. Please don’t ask for somebody else. However, you can have a Character of Significance on the list, provided that you own it. (Ask me.)
Nips & cuddles,
— Dee
D'Otter's Space 