Kazoo Parade 2010

July 3rd marked the return of the Nazareth Kazoo Parade to celebrate Independence Day. As you may remember, last year's kazoo event was a concert rather than a parade. Well, all is right in the world again for those that like their kazoos with a little locomotion.

A highlight of this year's event was the grand marshal Kate Miccuci, a former Nazareth resident that has made a bit of a name for herself in the comedy biz. Kate lead the parade and tickled the crowd's silly bone with a song about Nazareth.

I've seen Kate on Youtube before. Apparently, Youtube removes a few pounds because I was expecting to see a petite little thing in person. In reality, Kate is quite an imposing figure. She's a hulking six and a half feet tall and, in my estimation, nearly 300 pounds. It was quite startling.

Anyhoo, here is a video of the parade coming down Main Street and a video of Kate's goofy song about Nazareth.

Matchstick Taj Mahal Finished!

As the Express Times reported last week, puzzle enthusiast & Nazareth local Raymond Neuner completed a replica of the Taj Mahal made of matchsticks. If this has you excited then I'm about to blow your mind...the replica is available for public viewing during Martins on Main (Aug. 8) at KNBT. So clear your calendar.

Fun Facts about the Taj Mahal:

• It was completed around 1653 and took about 22 years. Ray's replica took about 2400 hours over three winters.
• Over 1000 elephants were used to move materials to the construction area. No elephants were used during construction of Ray's replica.
• The total cost is estimated at 32 million rupees. According the the Internet, Ray's replica kit cost about 80 bucks.
• The Taj Mahal attracts 2.5-4 million tourists each year. Ray's replica has just recently been put on display so data is not yet available.
  

Remembering the Washington St. Ghost Owl

Way back in 2007 I posted a picture of the Ghost Owl of Washington Street after I sumbled upon it while out for a walk. It was the first thing I ever posted on this site and it is the reason this site exists. Sadly, the Owl has been destroyed. It's sad, tattered remains are still attached to the branches. What was once a proud symbol of Nazareth weirdness is now a broken shard of plastic. Goodbye, old friend.


I close my eyes, only for a moment, and the moment's gone
All my dreams, pass before my eyes, a curiosity
Dust in the wind, all they are is dust in the wind.
Same old song, just a drop of water in an endless sea
All we do, crumbles to the ground, though we refuse to see

Dust in the wind, all we are is dust in the wind

Don't hang on, nothing lasts forever but the earth and sky
It slips away, and all your money won't another minute buy.

Dust in the wind, all we are is dust in the wind
Dust in the wind, everything is dust in the wind.

2010 Nazareth Adult Soapbox Derby

If you're anything like me, when you hear the phrase "adult soapbox derby" certain things come to mind. But in reality the annual Nazareth Adult Soapbox Derby is simply a soapbox derby where only those over the age of 18 can race. Doesn't have anything to do with ball gags or leather chaps. So if you're looking for that kind of thing move along.


Yesterday, the annual soapbox derby was held on the W. Prospect Street hill. There were almost 40 cars ranging from converted snow blowers to highly engineered racing machines to wooden jalopies. This year featured neo-celebrity Tyler Grady of Star Search fame and a police radar device that displayed the car's speed. It was a great day. The slideshow below is from a Flickr group dedicated to the event. So it features some of my own photos and other's as well. Also, there are links below to all of the applicable sites devoted to the Nazareth Adult Soap Boax Racing Association

Facebook Group: HERE
Building the WeirdNazareth.com Klown Kar: HERE
Official Website: HERE
Article in Express Times (Lehigh Valley Live): HERE
Photo Gallery from ET/LVL: HERE
2009 Derby: HERE
2008 Derby: HERE

Public drunkenness, underage drinking, and disorderly conduct

The Morning call has a charming police blotter article about a Nazareth man having a fun time with Nazareth Borough police yesterday. You can read it here. After being picked up for some suspicious activity he
broke a window with his head and smeared his blood on the holding cell’s glass, door, three walls, toilet and floor. Later, according to the article, he licked his blood off the broken window, saying, “I need blood. I want blood. I want your blood.” Good times.

arson, arson endangering property, causing catastrophe, risking catastrophe, recklessly endangering another person, disorderly conduct...

The Morning Call has a police blotter article about a Nazareth woman who tried to break her way back into her apartment after a domestic dispute. Maybe not a terribly unusual premise. However, the method of entry is. According to the article she used long stick matches to melt the window screen to attempt to gain entry causing fire damage to the apartment. Brilliant!

You read all about Nazareth's best and brightest under the topic "crime and punishment."

Obscura Day in Bucks County

If you're interested in something weird to do this March you can take a drive down to Bucks County to celebrate Obscura Day with a rock concert at Ringing Rocks park. What's Obscura Day, you ask? Why, Obscura Day is only the 17th best day of the year. March 20th is designated as an international celebration of wondrous, curious, and esoteric places or "Obscura Day."

One of the official Obscura Day events is a concert created by banging on the rocks at Ringing Rocks Park in Bucks County. And anyone can participate. As Obscura Day's website describes:
March 20, 2010 1PM: Bring hammers, mallets, bats, and other percussive instruments for this gathering at the mysterious Ringing Rocks Park in eastern Pennsylvania, where the stones have a most curious property: they ring out musical tones when struck. The exact mechanism by which these rocks ring remains a mystery, though it may have to with the freeze-thaw cycle that helped created the boulder field in the first place. The unusual property has been observed at only a few other locations in the US. Join us on Obscura Day to collectively rock out in this most curious of rock parks. Obscura Day Ringing Rocks Concert website: Click Here

Although WeirdNazareth.com won't be hosting an official Obscura Day event we are going to create a WeirdNazareth map that you can follow on Obscura Day or any day of the year. It will allow you to enjoy the impending Spring weather and some of the stuff we've posted here in-person. Dust off your GPS's and check back in a little bit for your official Spring 2010 WeirdNazareth.com map!

2010 Soapbox Derby Registration Now Open

Registration is is now open for the 3rd annual adult soapbox derby. Hop over to point-o-eight.com for the registration form so that you can register your own home made monstrosity. Be sure to check our Maker Diaries site in the near future because I'll be blogging about the creation of WeirdNazareth's 2010 car (if you're interested in doing the same, email me at weirdnazareth@hotmail.com). To get you in the spirit, here are pics from:

2008's inaugural race

my 2008 car

2009's race

Bath's Guitar Zero

Not since Kendra Hoffman's 2009 pretzel coaster attempt has the Bath area been so abuzz about one of its native sons. Aaron Nikles of Bath made a valiant attempt at breaking a Guitar Hero world record at Wilkes College but came up short. Read the story here. Witnesses say he collapsed from exhaustion during the bridge of Radar Love and his avatar was booed off the virtual stage. On the positive side, $100 dollars were raised for the American Cancer Society and he unlocked the leopard-print stretch pants after beating his own high score on Slow Ride.

Kazoo Petition

As the Morning Call reports, Nazareth native and actress Kate Micucci was on Jimmy Kimmel Live last night and told the world a little bit about our little town of Nazareth. Maybe not the world, but the 15 people that watch Jimmy now know that we have an annual July 4th kazoo-related event in town. Since you didn't see it, click here.

The kazoo event is a few years old but last year it wasn't a parade; It was a concert. And as l'il Kate Micucci said on Jimmy's show, it was a bit of a bummer. She even said she'd write the mayor. I know that'll never happen. So I decided to create a petition to bring back the parade format. People need the exercise.

You can sign the petition here: http://www.PetitionOnline.com/kazoo/petition.html

You know you want to.

We need your help...

We are seeking information, tales, photos, legends, rumors, anecdotes, and details about the "rock room" at Nazareth High School. Please send us what you know. E-mail at weirdnazareth@hotmail.com

I didn't go to NAHS so I don't know anything about it. But I'll bet you do!

Nazo State of Mind

Local radio DJ Jarret Brown is droppin' it like it's hot in this dope rap about Nazareth. You'll think this track is ill even if you ain't from south of Prospect...

Click Here to Listen