BUNCOM DAY 2011

Buncom Day returned with a flourish on May 28, 2011.

At daybreak, the prospects for having any sort of Buncom Day looked pretty grim: a late spring rain had fallen all night and showed no signs of letting up. One by one the intrepid organizers, vendors and community booth representatives straggled in, shoulders slumped and faces downcast. Could it be that all their hard work in resurrecting Buncom Day had come to naught?

Nine o'clock in the morning, and the rain let up. By about 9:30, it had quit altogether and the setup operations shifted into high gear. Not exactly the same undaunted courage of literary fame, but it was quite a scene, with tarps and ponchos stuffed in saddle packs or pickups and colorful banners announcing the Chicken Splat, the Polliwog Tank, and other treats festooning the trees around Buncom.

Details of the individual events follow on their own pages, but for those in a hurry, here's a summary of the official events of Buncom Day 2011. What's missing, alas, is the litany of informal "events" - running into someone you haven't seen in years, learning what a pony looks like with just hands to see with, everyone improvising to come up with what would pass for lunch, Country Store patrons finding hidden treasure, impromptu music groups, the delighted giggle of a child united with a wriggling polliwog, and lots of roving "reporters" and photographers. We had

• Music
• Food
• In the shameless commerce division, we also had raffle prizes, used books, tomato starts, trees, mini-Reiki massage/body work
• The petting zoo, polliwogs to catch, beading, pony rides, gold panning, Chicken Splat and more for the kids
• Demonstrations on lace making, bead craft work, McKee Bridge Historical Society, the Oregon Paranormal Society, the Jacksonville Museum, sustainable logging and fire safety thinning, noxious weeds and how to deal with them, fire safety courtesy of District #9 firefighters, Siskiyou Upland Trails Association, Mercy Flights, and more
• And last, but not least, Buncom Day's hallowed traditions:
• The 2011 Chicken Splat contest featured flags, signs, a dinner bell to announce "success," and a backup chicken to be sure there was no break in the "action."
• The 2011 Buncom Parade featured antique cars, costumes, pets of all sorts, tractors and other motorized contraptions, and lots of walkers with signs and assorted getups.

In short, a good time was had by all. Mark your calendars for May 26, 2012!