Celebrating the Second: 15,000 Bottle Rockets

The award for "most fired-up," a glass firecracker made in the glass studio. (You can see "most patriotic" next to it.)

Penland knows how to throw a Fourth of July celebration, except they do it on the Second. Or at least this year they do. That's because we're all packing up today (the Fourth) and the scholarship auction was last night (the third). So on Wednesday, we celebrated our country's independence in a display that I'll never forget.

The dancing cicadas (Penland Director and Deputy Directors)

It started with the Penland parade. A chance for any studio, family or Penland neighbor to show off...well, whatever they wanted. We had "Veterans for Peace," "choo-choo Oliver" (parents towing a child in a decorated wagon), "Dancing Cicadas" (the school's director and co-director), and many, many more. I don't think any of us will forget the glass making studio working on creating a large object in their van and pulling out...a watermelon (real). Various studios had created awards and they were given out at the ice cream social that followed the parade.

Clay studio gives us "I'm a little teapot"

But wait, we're not done yet! Penland has its own fireworks tradition beautifully organized by the ground's maintenance crew. You can tell it's got to be the best part of their job description: Keep Penland grounds and building in working order, produce outstanding fireworks display on Fourth of July.

The bonfire on the knoll preceding the fireworks.

After ice cream, blankets were spread on the hill and we watched a great fireworks display. Since they were being shot off on the meadow's knoll only 3000 feet from us, they filled our entire field of vision...wonderful. The finale is a Penland tradition: 15,000 (yes, thousand) bottle-rockets thrown on the fire and set off at one time. Words and pictures can not do justice to the spectacle.