Festivals of New Wexwood
Circus Sideshow Parade
New Wexwood, before it was officially New Wexwood, was where many circus folk and animals summered, close to the inlet. When founder Oudhusen bought the land, he graciously allowed the circus folk to become integrated into the just-beginning little town, and we’ve celebrated their history ever since!
This enthusiastic one-day event is all about the parade, which includes locals dressed up as clowns, ringmasters, strong men, trapeze artists, animal trainers, and the like! It’s very fun and family-oriented, and it’s done in the best of taste. The calliope leads the way, and everyone dances, marches, and waves their way to the beginning of downtown New Wexwood. Lots of popcorn, corndogs, cotton candy, and lemonade for everyone!
If you stick around until just before dark, you can witness or participate in the Black And White Circus Festival—it’s a relatively new event, and is a little more ‘gothic’ and a shade bit scary…sword swallowers and fire eaters regale the brave attendees with their brand of circus behavior while black and white clowns attempt to intimidate. Bearded ladies, tattooed men, JoJo the Dog Boy, lots of so-called freaks attend to watch and encourage. Meant to amuse and celebrate the sideshow, this event is adults only, and please wear something reflective, so there are no more close calls.
Botanical Society Annual Poisonous Plants Festival
This is recommended for botanical professionals and people with scholarly interests in poisonous plants, and most of the talks given at the festival are closed-door sessions, but the vendors are very welcoming, and the t-shirts are legendary! Feel free to come to the two-day event at the Botanical Society and browse the front lobby and gift shop for fun and non-poisonous goodies! If you do have a specific interest in attending the talks, please come with identification and you can pay your $15 entry fee at the door. You will be questioned and patted down before being allowed into the closed-door sessions.
Literary Festival
It’s a free two-day indoor event at the New Wexwood Library, where you’ll find lots of interesting books, both new and classic, with the entire library staff dressing up as their favorite literary characters! Lots of lectures on literary topics are free to the public, and if you want to know what Jane Austen ate, or taste a pigeon pie, you must come and participate! There are lots of games for the children, although the popular book-tossing event has been cancelled for now. Bookish food, fun, and the annual literary scavenger hunt will make you glad you know how to read!
Radish & Mermaid Festival
New Wexwood’s early history involved a quaint story involving the founder of New Wexwood, Malcolm Oudhusen, creating a fanciful tale about mermaids that inadverdently frightened not only his children, but the rest of the tiny town’s children as well! To right his wrong, he convinced the children that radishes would make the mermaids happy forever. Luckily, the children believed him, and the rest is, well, history!
Now we celebrate the local mermaid legend by dressing up as mermaids in sequins, bright colors, wigs, and fishtails, and parade through downtown New Wexwood, over the cobblestone roads, right down to the ocean-fed inlet, where we toss hundreds of radish wreaths into the water, just like the Oudhusen children did many years ago. We crown a local woman the Mermaid Queen, she eats a radish, and the music begins! The local high school band plays as we dance until dusk, or visit the local vendors at their temporary booths downtown, tasting radish-themed dishes and desserts, or perusing the mermaid-themed and radish-themed art, jewelry, and gifts.
It's a wonderful time, full of laughter and fun, and reminds us all that mermaids are not bloodthirsty!