IndianaTED
  •  IndianaTED
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Wednesday, July 3, 2019 9:07:34 AM
Hello everyone, sorry I haven't been around much lately...

With the "4th of July" holiday approaching fast it has reminded me of something that I feel needs to happen, that if it did, everyone would be the better for it.

Not going to dip into the history of the holiday much, other than to say that the 4th of July is kind of a misnomer. Congress voted to approve America's independence on July 2, 1776. Final declaration came on July 4th. My point is that either could be the date. Many scholars have argued the former should be the true date. But the point of this post is not that argument.


My thought, and this is not my idea but one that I have heard, that I think needs to gain traction...is that Congress should change the legal holiday, just like they did with Memorial Day back in 1970. Memorial Day used to always be May 30th. For many reasons, but the main one being creating a three-day weekend, Memorial Day was switched to the 4th Monday in May. What they could do with "Independence Day" is to make it the first Friday in July. Again, creating a three day weekend that most could celebrate in. Since the point of the holiday is fireworks late into the evening, a Friday holiday gives everyone all weekend before going back to work. As I have done a couple of times already, I think we need to also call it "Independence Day" from now on and not the "4th of July" as obviously this change will make the 4th obsolete, with occasional exception.


But my real point is that this will make it so much better for Shows who play spots for the 4th. Because now, like this year, when the 4th falls in the middle of the week, and most spots want to conclude their celebrations with the fireworks on the 4th, Shows end up using two weeks on the summer schedule to play one spot. If the holiday wqas recognized as a Friday always, Shows would be able to maintain their regular weekly schedules. And in my eyes, when the holiday falls in the middle of the week, you do not get the same crowds as you do when it falls on a Friday or Saturday.


Like I said, this is not my idea, I just heard someone else say it, and think it just makes a lot of sense. Especially for the carnival industry.


Thoughts?

I've never been "with it", just been an interested observer of carnivals for more than 50 years.
Johnny's United Shows..."A Family Tradition" and "All for Fun, Fun for All".
The carnival of my youth, which had roots that originated in my hometown.
rodler
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Monday, July 8, 2019 4:31:13 PM

That is great for those who work a Monday through Friday schedule. Where I live most people work at factories that work 6-7 days a week. At the plant I work at they are changing our work schedule to Tuesday through Saturday so they don`t have to pay us time and half pay for Saturday which means less cash for us to spend at events now anyway. The traditional 5 day work week is slowly fading away for many people.
RodB
IndianaTED
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Wednesday, July 17, 2019 11:56:45 PM
Originally Posted by: rodler 

That is great for those who work a Monday through Friday schedule. Where I live most people work at factories that work 6-7 days a week. At the plant I work at they are changing our work schedule to Tuesday through Saturday so they don`t have to pay us time and half pay for Saturday which means less cash for us to spend at events now anyway. The traditional 5 day work week is slowly fading away for many people.



Good point Rodler. Yeah, the traditional work week is a thing of the past for a lot of people. The same could be said of the traditional summer season as well. About a month has been shaved off kid's summer break from when I was a kid. It's really a shame as to what has become of the once familiar traditions.
I've never been "with it", just been an interested observer of carnivals for more than 50 years.
Johnny's United Shows..."A Family Tradition" and "All for Fun, Fun for All".
The carnival of my youth, which had roots that originated in my hometown.