Teal Pumpkins!

They're coming.  Perhaps you've seen them.  Maybe even in your own neighborhood.  They're round.  They're teal.  They're...pumpkins!

Are teal pumpkins some strange mutation of the iconic Halloween squash?  The short answer is no.  The long answer is teal pumpkins are just regular pumpkins painted teal and placed outside of houses offering non-food trick-or-treat items on Halloween.

What?  No candy?  No chocolate?  No munchies of any kind?  Why???

Nowadays, it seems that more kids (and adults) have different kinds of food allergies.  There are people allergic to things like wheat, milk, peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, soy, sesame, fish, and other items.

Imagine being a kid with a food allergy.  All your friends are out trick-or-treating but you can't go because you can't eat the treats.  Not much fun, is it?

However, kids with food allergies can take part in the fun if they can get treats other than food.  Glow sticks, pencils, erasers, coloring sheets, and stickers are popular with all kids.  Of course, you can still have candy on hand to pass out if you'd like, but just be sure to ask the little monsters coming to your door whether they would like candy or a non-food item.  And be careful of some non-food items, such as latex, because some people have allergies to those things as well.

If you'd like to put a teal pumpkin outside your door this year (or just print out a sheet with a teal pumpkin), take a look at the Food Allergy Research and Education (FARE) website for more information.  You may just make a lot of goblins happy this year and save your front yard from getting toilet papered.

Wishing you a fun and safe Halloween from the perch.

Polish Heritage Month

It seems like every month we're celebrating one thing or another at the library, and October is no different.  For the first time we're celebrating Polish Heritage Month with a big display by our front door.  Yay!

When you think of Polish things, what usually comes to mind?  Kiełbasy (a.k.a. Polish sausage)?  Pierogi?  Maybe even polkas and polka music?  (For the record, the polka actually originated as a Czech dance, but Polish-Americans have made it a part of their culture.)

Although it may not be obvious at first glance, Poles have made great contributions to the world.  Astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus came up with the heliocentric theory which placed the sun rather than the earth in the center of the universe.  Composer Frédéric Chopin wrote all those beautiful piano concertos that we love so much.  Scientist Marie Curie (née Skłodowska) discovered the two elements of radium and polonium, naming the latter after her native country.  And let's not forget those Polish military commanders, Kazimierz Pułaski and Tadeusz Kościuszko, who fought in the American Revolution and helped the Colonies win their independence from Britain.  The list of names goes on and on.

In the United States, 3% of the population (that's over 9.5 million people, including yours truly) are of Polish descent.  Chicago has the largest number of Poles outside of Warsaw, Poland.  The first Poles in the country were in Jamestown in 1609, establishing glassmaking and woodworking industries.  Polish-Americans can be found in all fields, including sports, journalism, entertainment, science, politics, literature, and others.  Chances are good that some of your friends or co-workers are Polish.

So, put on your Polish this month!  Learn to dance the Polonaise, watch an Andrzej Wajda movie, read a book by Henryk Sienkiewicz, and bake an awesome babka.  Or just have some Polish candies at the perch until they're gone.

Wishing everyone a Happy Polish Heritage Month from the perch!  Wszystkiego najlepszego!  (All the best!)