By Diane Forrest
In 1963, around the same time I
was getting ready to make my debut, some English department students at the
University of Texas in Austin Texas decided to have a birthday party for a
character in A.A. Milne's book, Winnie the Pooh. Eeyore, a chronically depressed donkey in the
story, has believed that no body remembered his birthday. In fact, his friends had gathered together to
throw him a surprise party.
According to wikepedia.com, the
original event featured a trashcan full of lemonade, beer, honey sandwiches, a
live, flower-draped donkey, and a may-pole (in keeping with the event's
proximity to May Day). For many years the party was a UT tradition, but
subsequently the annual Birthday Party became a tradition in Austin's hippie
subculture.
Eeyore's Birthday Party is
attended by people from a wide variety of backgrounds and ages, some of whom
may have been attending for decades. Austin's hippie community still puts in a
major appearance at the event, which they celebrate by forming large drum circles,
which can sometimes contain hundreds of drummers and dancers in the large areas
of the park not occupied by other events.
As of 2008, the event has also
spread to Seattle's Cal Anderson Park as an annual celebration.
Today is Eeyore's
birthday, and if your not in the Texas or Washington area where
they are celebrating, you can still celebrate at home with the beating of the
drums, or eating some cake, and watching some old Winnie the Pooh videos!
Click here for the theme song,
and have fun reliving your childhood!
(All images from Google)
