Goofy Day

1971-1973

In 1971 Goofy Day was a new wild and crazy event added to the Saginaw summer schedule.  A parody of Color War Goofy day pitted two mixed teams-The Mickey Mouses and the Donald Ducks-made up of the Hill and Acropolis campers in a series of off-the-wall competitive timed relays on lower field.

1971: Amy Kurtzman and Myra Holt celebrating with Herbie giving low fives

1971: Carol Molnick and Amy Kurtzman…a chocolate mess!

1971: Debbie Glaser egg toss and catch with Steffi Baer officiating

1972: Ducks-Mickey Rothstein, Steve Lipstein, Barry Kutler and Mice-Harry Levit, Marc Sandhaus, Paul Fribush

1973 Winning Ducks-Terry Sisisky, Mark Dorph, and Ira Deming

1973: Sam Leibowitz, Alan Harris, Brian Weil with telepathic communication

1973: Karen Altman, Karen Seigal, Debra Forman and others quacking about

1970s: Carol Lipstein and Marc Sandhaus contemplating goofiness

Included in the original iteration of Goofy Day were events like a raw egg toss on the tennis courts, broom field hockey, pin the tail on the donkey, bed making, eating saltines and then whistling, and a pie-eating contest (hands tied behind the back of course).

Casual Herbie Cohen as one of the victims of the “Sink The Canoe and Staff, Too”

As with the Medley in Color War it all came down to one seminal event at the pool…but instead of a rope burn it was “Sink The Canoe and Staff, Too”.

The idea for each team to sink a canoe with Herbie, Connie, Shirley, and Danny dressed in appropriate Goofy attire by hauling buckets of water from the diving pool to the regular pool and filling the boats with water until they sunk….staff and all.

(Click to read the 1971 1st Annual Goofy Day Program)

(Click to read the 1972 Goofy day review from the Saginaw News)

2009-2015

For a number of years Goofy Day seemed to have lost it’s luster but, as with so many of these special events at Saginaw they get rediscovered and then prosper with age.  By the late 2000’s this became a really big show!  The teams have pre-printed team shirts and there are even opening ceremonies.

The opening ceremony…full of high jinx

The events got wackier and the fun factor jumped through the roof.   There is the Dizzy Izzy Relay where contestants had to do 10 rotations around a bat and then run the bases before tagging their teammate to do the same.

Dizzy Izzy starts with ten 360’s

Now fight vertigo and run the bases

There is the Tootsie Roll Search where the goal is to find 10 tootsie rolls hidden in the pudding using your hands only.  No emptying the container of pudding is allowed.

Find brown Tootsie Rolls in chocolate pudding….not so easy

How about the balloon shave?

Balloon shaving…..no nicks or you have blown it!

My personal favorite is called “Get Mellow”.  A pair of teammates face off from opposite ends of a piece of licorice with a marshmallow in the middle.  The object is to eat your way to the soft and chewy center….so to speak.

Only thing that would make this better is some mores……

Of course it ends as the tradition began with Sinking the Canoe and Staff Too!!!

The bucket brigade….

Or a Super Soaker will do….

(Click to read the detail of the 2015 Goofy Day Events)

As we said, some Saginaw events age gracefully others just get super charged over time.