America Bizarro: A Guide to Freaky Festivals, Groovy Gatherings, Kooky Contests, and Other Strange Happenings Across the USA [Paperback]

Nelson Taylor (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 5, 2000

Do you breed rats and mice that could preen like poodles in a pet show? Have creative juices yearning to be set loose on a 20-ton block of packed snow? Possess a melodious voice best suited to singing the praises of SPAM? Nope? That's okay, with America Bizarro, you can find out all about people who do!

It's a weird place, America, and even if you have a hobby or interest that no one you know shares, there's probably a group of people meeting somewhere in America to enjoy it together. Not only that, but someone else's obsession or bizarre display of civic pride is being celebrated right near you. Organized state-by-state, and illustrated with some pretty funny pictures, America Bizarro is an hysterical armchair read which doubles as a practical guide in case you want to:

See the Jumping Frog competition immortalized by Mark Twain in Calaveras County, CA
Be a delegate at the Dukes of Hazzard Fan Club Convention
Munch on Rocky Mountain oysters at Montana's Testicle Festival
Get lost in Grandpa John's Amazing Maze in a Nebraska cornfield
Tickle, caress, and seduce the ivories in Las Vegas' Liberace "Play-A-Like" Competition
Join Polar Bear plungers in the Atlantic in February at the Jersey Shore
Win a truck in Texas' famous Hands on a Hardbody contest

You never know. You could be the next International Pack Burro Race champion or just enjoy taking in the annual ArtCar Parade in San Francisco. America is what you make it, so make it Bizarro!

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

After covering the National Hobo Convention for Bikini magazine in 1998, former book publicist and freelance journalist Taylor developed an appetite for oddball festivals such as the "World Cow Chip Throwing Contest" in Beaver, OK, and the "World Championship Watermelon Seed Spit" in Luling, TX. This book is an attempt to provide a state-by-state list of all the wacky events that the author has visited, many held in small towns across America. Each listing consists of a breezily written thumbnail sketch that includes either the exact date of the event or, in most cases, only the month, a phone number, a web address when available, and ticket information. The book has merit as an inventory of unusual festivals that you would otherwise not hear about, but it does contain unnecessary errors regarding web addresses. For instance, the web address for the Judy Garland festival in Grand Rapids, MN, takes you to a flower and gift shop in San Francisco's Castro district. Not a necessary purchase.DRavi Shenoy, Naperville P.L., IL
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Nelson Taylor is a Content Editor at iUniverse.com and has written for Maxim, Details, Time Out New York, and Paper, among others. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin (August 5, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312262868
• ISBN-13: 978-0312262860
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #584,029 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #80 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Holidays

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This ain't your parent's guide to America!, September 3, 2000

By 

Joe Kurmaskie "www.metalcowboy.com" (Portland, Oregon United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: America Bizarro: A Guide to Freaky Festivals, Groovy Gatherings, Kooky Contests, and Other Strange Happenings Across the USA (Paperback)

Mr. Taylor takes us for a walk on the wild side in this guide to the off kilter, out of hand and off the beaten path fests, events and happenings. Wondered if America really was as strange as you suspected? Wonder no more. Organized by state, America Bizarro is... well, Think Tom Robbin's Another Roadside Attraction meets that outrageous show from the 1970s - Real People. This Book is for everyone who just can't stomach one more summer roadtrip to overrated, overdone and overpriced attractions. Hell, the Big Mouse down South doesn't need any more of your hard earned money... so get a copy of America Bizarro and start checking out the freaks, geeks and charming underbelly of the land of the free to be you and me.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars It's a start..., December 27, 2004

By 

Jennifer StAntoine "ladyjadegd" (Escondido, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: America Bizarro: A Guide to Freaky Festivals, Groovy Gatherings, Kooky Contests, and Other Strange Happenings Across the USA (Paperback)

I just received this book as a gift and I'm a little disappointed. It does have some weird events to visit and I'll be putting most of them on my TO DO list, but I guess the book itself wasn't what I expected and seems somewhat limited. I really like Roadside America just because it has absolutely SO MUCH stuff to see and do. I like this book and I'll use it in my crazy travels, but I'm not as excited about it as I was when I read the other reviews and put it on my wishlist.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Fun Trip into America the Wacky, September 26, 2004

By 

John Preble "UCM Museum Director" (ABITA SPRINGS, LA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: America Bizarro: A Guide to Freaky Festivals, Groovy Gatherings, Kooky Contests, and Other Strange Happenings Across the USA (Paperback)

This book is getting a little dated - however it is still a great resource for those wacky Americians who will put on a show for a nickle or a dime. I have read it twice and appreciate the author's attempt at covering an ever growing awareness of out wonderful Country - the U.S. OF A. - this book makes me proud to be and Americian.