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This installment of “This Month in Pun” is brought to you by the wedding consultants at The Bridal Path, located on Center Isle, Pun.  Proprietor Gwen Toody Chapel says, “When you’re through horsing around, we’ll help you rope him in, bit by bit.”

February 2: It’s Garrand Aug Day in Pun, named for a French-born Punster who lives in Boogen Villa. Each February 2, Mssr. Aug walks down onto the foggy shore of Safen Sound and looks back toward his home. Legend states that if he can see his chateau, Pun’s winter will continue another six weeks. Large crowds and media representatives gather every year to learn of his prediction and the children have even made up a rhyme about it. “Mssr. Aug, into the fog/He walks on down and enters/Turns and, oh! sees his chateau/Six more weeks of winter.”

February 3-4: The cannibal tribes of Buttin’s Key host the Beauty and the Feast pageant this weekend, when the pageant’s beauties are ceremoniously wined and dined on. If you get there late, don’t be surprised if everybody’s eaten.

February 5-11: The Railroad Days Festival is celebrated at Pun-Sylvania Station in Pun City. The story of Pun-Sylvania station is largely the story of one man, one of Pun’s greatest successes, railroad tycoon Chevalle D. Coal. The son of a shipping magnate, Cole found himself attracted to the steel rails even as a young boy when he accompanied his father on extensive business trips across Pun. While his father conducted business, Cole would station himself at the local rail depot, learning all he could from the employees about life on the railroads. At age 18, Cole got a job as an assistant clerk for the Maccabee Line in eastern Pun. Here he found that his early observations served him well. He rose quickly through the administrative ranks. By age 21, he was a Junior Vice-President with the company and had saved enough for a small down payment on a rail line of his own, the Wiss Spur. Even at this point in his young career, Cole’s ambitions and goals were clear. He saw Pun as a land of unlimited potential. “Pun is a wonderland,” he once stated. “And in a wonderland, even a cabbage can be King. That’s Cole’s Law.”
Cole set out to be the King of Pun’s rail lines. He believed he would be an old man before he achieved his goal. But starting with just one short line, he bought up other small, failing railroads and turned them into money-makers. Soon the other rail tycoons were reading the writing on the wall. Within ten short years, Cole had built magnificent Pun-Sylvania Station as his corporate headquarters in Pun City. He had gained control of every rail line in Pun – a veritable monopoly.
Even though he was a millionaire, Old King Cole (as he was affectionately known to Punsters) was a decent, benevolent man. He was especially loved by his employees. Cole engineers, conductors, firemen and brakemen considered it an honor to work for him. Even Cole porters sang his praises.
Today, Pun-Sylvania Station stands as a glass and steel testament to Cole’s vision and determination. The Railroad Days Festival is held in collaboration with the railroad museum located just off the main hall. Nineteenth century railroad cars and vintage locomotives and Cole memorabilia will be on display and there are games and rides for the kids, with free ice cream from the Toot-Sweet Creamery.

February 17-18: The annual Widow’s Peak Ski Festival takes place this weekend at (where else?) Widow’s Peak in central Pun. Also known as Haff Bald, this mountain offers some of the best skiing on the island. Downhill runs range from the comfortable and conservative (Horsencair Ridge, Snow Big Deal, and Jahn Glen) to the downright dangerous (Fool’s Rush, Balder Dash, and Ski Daddle).

All Month:  The most famous restaurant on Santa Lucia (the Isle of Lucy) is Ig-Lou’s and it is offering discounted prices all through February.  Owned and operated by Iggy Ricardo and Lou Sealball, this converted ice house has a long history of fine food and unique atmosphere.  During the 1920’s, the cool, dark, recessed booths became a mecca for lovers and Ig-Lou’s soon became famous for its secret rendezvous and not so secret confrontations by angry wives who caught their husbands locked in frozen embraces with other women.  The phrase, “Who was that woman I thawed you with?” originated here.  The menu’s headline item is chili.

This installment of “This Month in Pun” is brought to you by Invictus Shoes.  Found at fine shoe stores throughout Pun, with corporate headquarters in Foot Falls, Pun.  When you are wearing Invictus shoes, you will say, “I am the master of my feet; I am the captain of my soles.”

January 5-7:  Get away from the cold winter of north Pun by taking in the Fedder Rallies, Baja-style road races held this Friday through Sunday just outside the south Pun town of San Inyorchoos, also known as Sunburnadino. The rallies are held on the salt beds of what used to be a large body of water, Lake O’Lamb, that once existed north of the city. At one time, its shore was home to the Dalai Parton, titular head and chief prophet of a mystical religious cult who arrived from Back Bend as part of a prophet-sharing plan.. The Dalai Parton’s followers proclaimed him a messiah and believed he could perform miracles and walk on water. He never got the chance to prove the latter, however, because Lake O’Lamb dried up, leaving the prophet without a lake to stand on. If desert excursions are your cup of tea, take the opportunity while you’re attending the rallies, to rent a camel from The Camelot (home of the Knights of the Round Stable) and explore on your own.

January 6-7: The town of New Monia celebrates its founding this weekend with exhibits and a parade. Located on Pun’s eastern coast, the town’s name was originally spelled Numonia in honor of its founder, 15th century Portuguese explorer Joaquin Numonia. Numonia’s flagship, the Plura Sea, is on display in the city’s maritime museum in the Colla Dock area. A sled dog race along the waterfront, the Sea Spot Run, is also scheduled. If you’re looking for a good place to eat while in New Monia, try Casa Blanca. This fine restaurant is owned and operated by Sam Blanca, who has perfected the preparation of seafood to a fine art. Filet it again, Sam.

January 13-14: The Tchaikov Ski Lodge in central Pun is the site for this weekend’s Eiffel Downhill Ski Championship. Ski industry manufacturers from all over the island will be on hand promoting their products and hoping for endorsements from the top skiers who will be in attendance, such as Al Pine, Cher Lift, Freese Tile, Arty Fishell Snow, Kay Belkar, Telly Yuride, Bunny Slope, Ava Lanch, Sugar Lofe, Moe Gull, Ariel Mann Uber and even rappers-turned-skiers T-Barr and Ice Sax.

This weekend also finds the waters of Dire Straits the site of the “Regatta Get Out of This Place” sailboat races. Boat entries this year include O’Pun Sea, Hang on Sloop, Loco Mocean, Tom Cruiser, Ruby Yacht, Wind in the Billows, Aquaholic, Blew Bayou, Second Wind, All For Knot, Seaweed Dreams, Sea Yawl, Salt Water Toughie, Wave Goodbye, Knott Enough, Midlife Cry Seas, Hull in High Water, Up For Sail, Mizzen in Action, and last year’s winner and runner-up, Blew Bayou and Just Mist.

All Month: Celebrating the 88th anniversary of its opening in 1935, Home Plate restaurant in Mimiatda Station in central Pun has specials going on all month long. Located in the same town as the Pun Baseball Hall of Fame, the restaurant was established by Pun baseball legend Bubba Leenhot. Home Plate offers good food at prices that won’t make you balk. Try the Batter Up Pancakes for breakfast or the Fielder’s Choice Buffet for lunch. For supper, there are any number of succulent dishes such as Baltimore Chops, Bunted Fowl or Granny’s Lamb, garnished with National or American Leeks. There’s a seafood special (Basket Catch), a meatless dish (Goose Eggs), special dinners for two (Double Headers) and assorted pickles, jams and Cracker Jack cheese. Kids can order off the Minor League menu (featuring Hot Dogs, Pop Fries, Strained Ham Strings, Canna Corn and Fowl Tips, among others) but all adult meals are served with Home Plate’s own home-brewed lager, Root, Root, Root Beer.  And for dessert, try the Wild Peaches. A sure hit.  Also, on weekends this month, Pun Baseball Hall of Famers  Babe DeBluox, Lefty Seen, Casey Deeya, Homer Unn, Bach Score, Whitey Longface, Red Ruffinsaur, and Pee Wee Udd will be appearing at the restaurant, signing autographs.

https://punmap.com/881-2/

This installment of “This Month in Pun” is brought to you by Step-By-Step, the Children’s School of Dance.  Owner and Instructor Skip Toomaloo says, “If you want your children to be able to trip the light fantastic without tripping, ask us about our Baby Steps program.”  Located at 1234 Wontu Tree Ford, Foot Falls, Pun.

December 2-3: The D’Jubilee ‘n’ Magic festival is held this weekend in Pun City. A kind of Renaissance Music Fair, the festival showcases the music of Johann Sebastian, who originated a new musical style when he baroque his harpsichord. His most noteworthy composition, the magical “Opus Pocus” is usually a festival high point. If you are looking for a good restaurant while attending the festival, take the thyme to eat at Lost In Spice, run by Australians, Rosemary and Basil Peppercorn. The menu is overflowing with Basil’s original recipes, which led one restaurant reviewer to say of this knowledgeable chef, “This old sage is an excellent cook. I’ve never cinnamon with so much talent. It does nutmeg any difference which dish you order; alum are superb! You won’t bay leaf the quality.” One taste and you’ll know what he mint. Cumin get it. (NOTE:  Rosemary and Basil are now ably assisted by anise and nephew, Ginger and Dill.)

December 5-9: The Christmas season rolls in this week and all eyes turn to DeKingand I, a heavily forested island south of pun. It is from this island that Pun’s yule trees are harvested. All this week, people clog Pun’s seaports to catch sight of the Yule Bringer, the ship that ferries the special cargo to the mainland. Check local listings for details on delivery dates and times.

All month: There are, of course, many seasonal events across the island this month. Many people head for eastern Pun and the Mary Carr Isthmus, which throughout the year offers a little something for everyone. It features a fairly large town, marshlands, a quiet harbor, mountains, and an offshore deep sea fishing area which are, respectively, Fort Collinburg, Three French Fen, Two Turtle Cove, Anna Peart Ridge, Anna Peart Reef, plus a spectacular view of the gulf from Lordsa Leap. All through December, there is a special yuletide festival in Fort Collinburg sponsored by clothing manufacturer Donna Gay Apparel, whose corporate headquarters are in the city. And for those who like local legends, actors re-create the activities associated with “The Ghost of Isthmus Pass,” who is said to haunt the area’s main highway at the bridge over Bah Canal. While in the area, be sure to take in the free tour of one of the island’s largest distilleries, Isthmus Spirits.

December 16: The regular college football season is over but all of Pun is flush with excitement as the championship game is held this day. In a rematch of last year’s game, it’s No. 1 (Yurren) meeting Number 2 (Dudoo) in the Tydee Bowl in Pun City. At game time, most people who aren’t actually there are watching on TV and sewer we.

December 31: Along with people around the world, Punsters will be ringing in the new year at midnight. The traditional song sung at the moment the clock strikes twelve celebrates the story of Doodle Lang, an old mountain bootlegger who would stand on the top of his house and, at midnight, toss jugs of his ‘mountain dew” moonshine to the revelers who had gathered below. Lang would post a large sign in nearby villages, inviting people to his house for the celebration. The “Dew Drop” has become a tradition celebrated across the island, albeit now with trinkets and candies instead of liquor. The familiar lyrics of the song begin, “There is a man who’s name is Lang and he has a great big sign/ And Mr. Lang is very old, so they call it Old Lang’s Sign.”

Happy holidays, everybody.

This installment of “This Month on Pun” is brought to you by Abb Originals Prehistoric Fashions.  See Abb Originals for pelts, furs, bones and teeth, and also stone-washed jeans.  Located at 327 Hunter’s Way, Iceburgh, Pun.  In the same location for the 20,00 years.

November 4-5: There are many fall festivals all across Pun and on this weekend the seaport city of Smorgasburg on the shore of Betonda Bay holds its Flounders Day celebration. The highlight is a fishing tournament held just for the halibut. The city also has many attractions that reflect its rich seafaring history. For over two hundred years, ships have been guided into Betonda Bay by Miller Light, which was built in 1782 and immortalized in the 1897 novel, Miller Light by Tess Grate and Les Philling. Tours of the lighthouse are available and visitors can learn the amount of work involved in lighthouse keeping. Just a short walk from the lighthouse is the Smorgasburg Maritime Museum. Here, visitors can view displays of representative sea vessels from throughout Pun’s history. Prominently exhibited are the ketch Yurbreath, the junk Yard Dog, the rum-running proa Bitchin’, the launch Ainy, the barge Rye Tin, the yacht Sea Roller, the brig Adoon, the dhow Jones, the schooner Orlater, the ferry Godmother and, for this weekend only, the submarine Sand Witch. Shoppers will enjoy Dock Holiday, a row of former warehouses on the bay front that have been converted into specialty shops. You can find antique sleepwear at Yesterday’s Snooze, garden herbs at Mother Nature and Father Thyme , men’s suits from China at Kuppensaucer’s, nautical knickknacks at Shipshapes, and Chippendale’s Furniture, featuring Maylund Dressers, just to name a few. Looking for a good place to eat while in Smorgasburg? Try Hearth and Sole and savor delicious seafood before a warm and inviting fireplace. This is north country dining at its finest. Home is where the hearth is.

November 12-18: This is Dinosaur Week at the Kolomaz Museum in Pun City. On display are fossils retrieved from the frozen wastes of the Dubbelon Tundra and from the ooze and mire of the Walter Wall Tar Pits. Some of the creatures whose bones have been pieced together apparently existed nowhere else on earth. You’ll see fossils of the Red Commisaur, Roget’s Thesaurus, the almost overlooked Nobodisaurus, the two-footed Dubbeldactyl, the very early Krackadon, the foul-smelling Tyrannosaurus Reex, the revolting Iamspartacus, the clone-like Peezinapod, the tiny Bikinitop, the annoying Mythroatisaur, and the nocturnal Dusktodon. Also on display are the fossils of early mammals such as the Wooly Bully, the Tame Minotta Shrew, the Chatterb Ox (also known as the Yakkity Yak), the Shuffelofta Buffalo, and a flying pig-like creature, the Hamm Hawk.

All month: The college football season on Pun winds down but there are still important games this month:  Gulliver travels to Lilliput, Fierman goes to Blaises, Stanley meets Livingston and, in four annual battles of military academies, it’s Stand at Attention, Sergeant at Arms, Soljer is at Parade-Wrest and Fyre at Will.

This installment of “This Month In Pun” is brought to you by Nytakes Pawn pawn shop.  Manager Chick Mait says, “At Nytakes Pawn, we’ll treat you like a king and you’ll never get rooked.”  Located at 2D Bishop’s Row (near the Castle Queen-Side Hotel) in Pun City, Pun.

September 30-October 1: Ore Chasm in central Pun hosts the Flourish of Strumpets festival. Ore Chasm was a productive gold mining area in the late 1800’s and there are still many places in Ore Chasm where people still scratch and claw nuggets out of the once ore-rich rock. The festival celebrates the area’s history and features a hoedown on the floor of the ballroom of the homestead of Lady Moneydown, wife of Lord Halfmercy.

October 4-: Pun’s Baseball Championship Series gets underway with a rematch of last year’s pennant winners. The Robins Sun-Cruisers under manager Mann Friday, take on last year’s champions, the Pun Slingers, managed by Theophilus Punoval.

October 10: October 10 is Independence Day on Pun. In 1791, the death of the Great Pun King, Charlebrown, resulted in a political vacuum because he left no heir. This led to a titanic struggle among Pun’s nobility for control of the ship of state. Eventually, through four years of back-stabbing, arm-twisting and throat-cutting, Lord Elordi of St Spreservus succeeded in dismembering the body politic and emerged as the head of a new political force that he ruled with an iron hand. He was crowned the new monarch in 1795.  Elordi’s rise to power was so steeped in treachery that it is no wonder that his government soon found itself in hot water. His oppressive laws and taxes brought tensions to a boiling point and in 1800, Pun exploded in open rebellion.  Elordi was backed by the aristocracy while the rebel front was made up of lesser nobility and the common people. Elordi viewed the commoners with disgust. “The people are revolting,” he said. “They have no reason to complain. They are a rabble without a cause.” The two sides met in a climactic battle in the streets of Pun City in 1802. The rebels stormed Bustov Palace (the royal residence) and captured the king. In exchange for his life, Elordi was forced to sign the Countov Manifesto, which established a constitutional monarchy and provided for an elected parliament as the legislative branch of government. This was great victory for the common people who, for the first time, were to have a voice in their country’s future. The day is commemorated across the island by fireworks displays and parades. Before the parade in Pun City, catch the Ouida Peeple Pre-Amble (named for a revolutionary martyr) through the streets of the city. This year’s Grand Marshall for the Pun City parade is the winner of the 2023 National Educator of the Year Award, mathematics teacher Lois Carmen DeNominator.

October 14-15: The artist’s colony of Sound Retreat on Veronica Lake in central Pun is host to an art sale and wine tasting during the Arts and Carafe festival this weekend. Veronica Lake is is another of Pun’s beautiful lakes and offers boating, fishing, camping and water-skiing activities during summer months. The artists’ colony of Sound Retreat is on the lake’s south shore. It’s guest list reads like a Who’s Who of Pun’s artistic heritage. Over the years, the colony has been temporary home to the poets Tennyson Ewon, Almsford D. Poe, Whittier Want, Odette Burns, Sol Longfellow, Dee Frost, R.U. Donne, Marshall Dylan, and Wordsworth Reeding. Artists such as L.O. Dali, Herve Gaugain, E.Z. Monet, Kay Seurat-Seurat, Potters Klee and Geddup Van Gogh have also sojourned here, enjoying the peace, tranquility, and beauty of this lake settlement.

All month: College football continues across the island. In games of interest this month, it’s Stagg at Bay, Kummeer at Wuntz, Sofa goes up against DeWall, Shipp takes on Kargo, Eacher meets Enveggies, Hunter goes head-to-head with Furst, and Possum plays Dedd.

All month: Special reduced pricing is featured all month long at The Edible Complex in Fort Issimo.  The Edible Complex is not one but several restaurants grouped together under one roof.  Because of Fort Issimo’s history as a mining town, all these eateries, such as Grub Steaks, use a mining motif, but each with a different specialty.  Panned Out features crepes.  Mine Furor specializes in German cuisine.  Shaft’s features soul food.  You’ll find grilled pork at Pig Iron.  There’s spicy cuisine from all over the world at Fire in the Hole.  For most people, however, the restaurant of choice is Seven Potato Ore, which undoubtedly has Pun’s finest potato bar.  All the restaurants are excellent.  Eat at The Edible Complex and you’ll swear you’ve hit the mother lode.

This installment of “This Month on Pun” is brought to you by Psychtherapist Sue Pareego, who says, “Let me find out what you have in mind.”  Located at 4 Honor Couchive Ln., Pun City, Pun.

As autumn begins on the islands of Pun and the Free Associations, the weather begins to turn foul. High winds, known as the Fish Gales, blow across the region, producing a wholly mackerel sky. High level storm clouds, comprised of whirled cirrus, bring baseball-sized hail. There is usually a two-week respite from the steadily declining temperatures late in the fall. This period of “Indian Summer” is accompanied by Apache Fog.

September 2: College football kicks off in the Tydee Bowl in Pun City as Wotsamadda U. hosts its cross-town rival Joe College.  In other games of interest, Luna Tech is at Large, Alien visits Erth, Gulliver travels to Lilliput, Super-Mottle battles Anna Rexia, Awl comes to Knott, and Hugh Manatee goes to Helena Handbasket.

September 2-3: The Common Coal Festival is held in the Gesund Heights in Central Pun. The festival consists of displays of mountain arts and crafts, many of which are made with the wood of trees indigenous to the area such as the Aw-Aw Cashew. Also on display are coal industry exhibits which attempt to demonstrate that the importance of coal to the economy is nothing to sneeze at.

September 3-9:  The first full week in September is designated as “Gnu’s Week” on Pun, which is celebrated annually to honor Pun’s national symbols, Goode Gnus. See local sources for celebration details for each community.  It doesn’t matter if you’ve attended past years’ celebrations and think you’ve seen it all.  Each year, there is always something Gnu.

September 10-16: Santa Lucia, on Pun’s west coast, is host to the Maiden Fair, which runs through the entire week. The highlight of this Renaissance-style fair is the “Joust Between Friends,” which gives fair-goers a pointed reminder of what Pun life was like during the island’s feudal period.

September 17-September 23: The “Pirate Days Festival” is held in the southern Pun City of Seville to commemorate the city’s history as a pirate base in the late 1700’s. The pirate influence on Seville remains evident even today. The homes of pirates Long John Undaweir and Cap’n Gown still stand and are open for tours during the festival. At Booty Rest, a local cemetery where pirates were said to have buried some of their treasures, lie the remains of James Teach, alleged cousin of Edward Teach, who was known as Blackbeard. James Teach was known as Blackboard and also Jungle Jim. The festival is held near the Old Harbor Market, which is preserved as it was in its heyday when plunder from pirate raids – foods, wines, cloth, and jewels – was sold openly at exorbitant prices. Pirate corn, for example, was a buck an ear. Looking for a place to stay while in Seville for the festival? Try the Poopdeck Hotel. Many of the inns and hotels in Seville have adopted a nautical motif, reflective of the city’s history as a pirate base. The Poopdeck does it up big. The tip-hungry bellhops are all dressed in sailor suits (wolves in ship’s clothing), the restrooms off the lobby are labelled “Buoys” and “Gulls,” and each guest’s room features a live parrot on a stand, which probably explains the hotel’s name. Even local floozies parade through the lobby dressed as pirates (Yo-Ho-‘Ho’s), which in turn, explains why the hotel was originally known as the Admiral Bimbo Inn. Just across the street from the Poopdeck is The Pirate’s Blade, a restaurant where tasty food and good service provide an edge over the local competition. The house specialties are the swordfish and veal cutlass.

This installment of “This Month in Pun” is brought to you by paranormal investigator, Phoebe Jeebees.  Phoebe says, “Ghost removal is our specialty.  Just call us when the spirit moves you.”  Located at 8407 Paul Tergeist Place, Boogen Villa, Pun.

August 1-31: For the entire month of August, the Dog Days celebration takes place in Baskerville in northwestern Pun. Baskerville is widely known as the dog-breeding capital of the island. Many breeds of dogs, found only on Pun, originated here, including the the Watsop Dachshund, Allyn Shepherd, the Beemiup Scottie, the Jonathon Livingstone Beagle, the Knitten Afghan, the Angela Basset, both the Kathy and Merv Griffon,  the Penny Pinscher, the Skye Lab, the Bull Shih Tzu, the Habla Spaniel, the Melon Collie, the Punch-Drunk Boxer, the Skool-Kaffa Terrier, the Joe Cocker Spaniel, the Harmonna Cur, and the Jimmy Crack Cairn. Many activities are planned and include free trips across the Bay of DeHounds on the Hounds Tooth Ferry. The festivities conclude on the 31st with the National Dog Show finals and the naming of the Best Dog in Show. Last year, the winner was Yordewan, a Finger Pointer.  Another highlight of the show is the customary singing of the puppy judges’ song, “I’m Going to Sit Right Down and Rate Myself a Litter.”

August 5-6: Nachos Island, off Pun’s southern coast, hosts the Chili con Carnival, with its chili cooking competition. Eight years ago, a new category – Hot and Sole – was added to introduce fish chili to the competition and was a big success. Four years ago, ingredients such as soy, quinoa, and kale were introduced in a category called “Go To Health.” Three years ago, a new category featuring liver and tripe was tested under the category name, “Blood and Guts,” but it was not continued because it turned out to be offal.  Instead, two years ago a spicy chicken chili category was introduced called “Pullet Surprise.”  Last year, rattlesnake meat was the surprise ingredient in a new category, “Bite Back Chili.”  And this year, lamb is featured in a brand new category, “Ewe Bean Served.”  Commemorative T-shirts of the cook-off are available and feature the carnival slogan, “Bean There – Downed That.”

August 12-13: Courtens Park in Pun City is the site of this year’s National Kiss-Off, where couples kiss and try to be the last one off the buss. Once again, the competition’s festivities include romantic poetry recitations by Pun’s Poet Laureate Wordsworth Reeding, romantic ballads sung by The Tulips, and love songs sung by Spanish songstress Bessie Mae Mucho.

All month: All this month, Bea’s Wax Museum is cutting admission prices in celebration of its 56nd anniversary. Madame Toussaud can’t hold a candle to Bea Keeper, who has a wicked way with wax. Her creations represent all walks of life from the well-heeled to the pedestrian. Visitors can meet hundreds of notables from Pun history such as railroad tycoon Chevalle D. Cole, Lord I.C. Liverspots (The Earl of Olay), songstress Carrie Oakie, race car driver Mario Speedwagon, mystery writer Penny Dreadful, western writer, Hal Bentford Leather, champion wrestler Matt Burns, Italian-born general Vinnie Vidivici, and revolutionary martyrs Ouida Peeple and Doris O’Pun. In the Chamber of Horrors are represented the infamous such as highwaymen Avery Juan Reech and Stan “Dandy” Liver, arsonist Bern M. Down, cereal killer Curt Eldmilk, and the criminal duo of Phil O’Nee and Misty Meaner.

All month:  Darwin’s Garage in Pun City is celebrating the 26th anniversary of it’s rebuilding in 1997.  All Punsters know the story of this famous landmark where noted anthropologist Eve O’Lucien teamed up with military industrialist Darwin Savoir on an experiment involving rhesus monkeys.  Theorizing that monkeys could be trained to do mechanical tasks, the two placed one in Darwin’s Garage and put it to work on military vehicles.  It immediately invented the monkey wrench.  Soon after, garage owners throughout pun were clamoring to Darwin for grease monkeys of their own.  “Simian ape, quick!” they’d plead.  The experiment proved to be an unqualified success until one of Darwin’s team tried to teach the monkeys to weld. One monkey got too near a gas pump and the resulting explosion destroyed the garage and littered the area with rhesus pieces.  There are discounts all month for vehicle service and repairs, and also for the garage’s Monkeyshines Carwash.

This installment of “This Month In Pun” is brought to you by Speech Therapist Robert Beebe Buggybumper, located at 676 Sea Shell Shore Shop St., Point Spread, Pun.

July 3-8: A surfing competition and subsequent crowning of the “Chairman of the Board” are part of the DeGraydis Capers week at (where else?) DeGraydis Cape on Pun’s southern coast. Please note that although the surfing competition is still scheduled, the event is subject to postponement if there are reports of sharks in the area. Periodic sightings of Lone, Card, and Poole Sharks have had festival organizers worried. A few years ago, a surfer lost a toe to a shark and had to drop out of the Hang Ten competition.  Surfers are keen to compete but no one wants their attempt to be crowned champion to cost them an arm and a leg.

July 8: Northern Pun’s city of Smorgasburg hosts its annual Rat Race (also known as the C. Howdy Run), a 10-K event held each July along the shoreline of Betonda Bay. Last year’s winners were Ronya Legzoff and Myles Tugo.  If you like to get your exercise on the dance floor, you might try Smorgasburg’s Swedish Meet Ball, held in conjunction with the Rat Race. This marathon dance is held in the ballroom of the Swede Dreams Hotel. While in Smorgasburg, we recommend dining at The Shipyard. This converted dockside warehouse, formerly known as the Barge Inn, is owned by Abel Seaman, a former whaler captain and current president of the Pun Sperm Bank. The Shipyard’s menu includes subs, steamers of clams, and a ketch of the day, all of which can be washed down with a schooner of ale. Seaman says, “Yawl come out for launch and eat a yacht.”

July 14-16: The local mental health clinics of Grape Harbor benefit from the proceeds of a wine-tasting celebration during the Days of Wine and Neuroses festival kicking off on the 14th and running through the weekend. Grape Harbor and the Rio McCoy valley to the northeast comprise Pun’s wine country. Vineyards are everywhere and produce wines for every taste. A partial listing of those available at the wine tasting include Bridgette Bordeaux – a light French-style wine that ages beautifully; Hello Madeira – a good introductory wine, light, pleasant, complimentary, promising better things; Wotz-Rongwitt Medoc – A curious wine, hard to define, tasting expensive but leaving a question on the palate; Garland-Avery Port – a low-class wine for the non-discriminating wine drinker; Madam Moselle – an exciting but underage wine that makes up in vitality what it lacks in depth and maturity; Mell Blanc, which expresses multiple characters, each different from the others, and Ringsov Sauterne – one of Pun’s most potent wines – one or two glasses will knock you flat on Uranus.

July 17-23:  The Home Owners, Renovators and Retailers Interior Design (H.O.R.R.I.D) Show has its fourth annual display this week in Pun City.  Companies displaying their home decorating and renovation products include Mickey Mantels, Tode Stools, Budd Lights, Matta Doors, Seek Lamps, Lila Carr Rug, Mike Rosoff Windows, La Brea Carpets, Horr’s Tables, Sauer Drapes, Repp Tiles, Howard Hues Paints, Geiger Counters, Bretha Fress Chairs, Harry Pottery, and Pharaoh Faucets.

July 24-29: The Pun National SETI Conference opens in St. Spreservus in southern Pun and is open to the public. SETI stands for Search for Evidential Traces of Ignoramia. The conference offers lectures and exhibits about this curious island. Don’t bother looking for Ignoramia on any recent maps of Pun and the Free Association Islands; it isn’t there. Ignoramia is is a legendary lost island, said to have sunk into Luna Sea under the weight of its own ineptitude.
Little is known about the land. Its form of government appears to have been an idiocracy – government by the stupid. Its Parliament, known as Fools’ Circle, was made up of 1000 Ignoramuses who met on the Asinine Heights mountain top of Numm’s Skull (also known as Bone Head and Addle Pate). So incompetent were its leaders that Ignoramia was also known as the Land of 1000 Dunces. Even the island’s forests were dense. The Black Forest, for example, was so dense that not even light escaped. Ignoramia had few cities. Those that did exist (Simpleton, Slow Downs, Ninny, Dolt, Oaf, Loon) were surrounded by thick walls, set at obtuse angles to one another.
There is evidence that some Ignoramuses made their way to Pun, apparently brought in by dope smugglers. No other flora and fauna are known to have survived. Animals thought to have lived on the island include the Sillee Ass, Ding Bat, and the Lumm Ox. In addition, scientists have found on small isolated atolls in the region Dodo droppings and Ninkum poop, which would indicate the these species might have been there also.
Periodically, adventurers will get it into their heads to go search for Ignoramia, but the dark, muddled waters of the sea make this an extremely dangerous undertaking. The bottom line is that only someone whose heritage can be traced back to Ignoramia would attempt such a foolhardy enterprise.  So, if you’re actively searching for Ignoramuses, you probably are one.

This installment of “This Month in Pun” is brought to you by Java – The Hut.  Caffiends all across Pun love this trendy coffee bar franchise which features such concoctions as Latte-Dah, G.I. Joe, and Mocha Cola, to name but a few.  At locations throughout Pun.

June 3-4: The Oh! Migration! festival, held in Babaloo on the island of Santa Lucia (the Isle of Lucy), celebrates Pun’s inland expansion from the coastal city-states. Thousands gather to participate in activities centered in and around Pepptobiz Mall to honor the spirit that settled the interior.

June 4: Batteries Park, on the south side of Point Spread in south-central Pun, is the site of a special celebration honoring the city’s history as an important military post. The artillery battery cannons, known as the Guns of Neveron, which for years protected Honorondo Bay and Pun’s capital from marauding pirates such as Cap’n Gown and Long John Undaweir, are still fired once a year to recreate their historic role in Pun’s history. The city creates a festival around the event, held each year on Neveron Sunday.

June 5-10: Mon Key holds its annual Mon Key Shines festival through this week, highlighted by barrel races, business exhibits, a greased pole climbing competition, a wrench toss, and the Gorilla My Dreams beauty pageant.

June 21: In eastern Pun, the longest day of the year is celebrated in a huge arts and crafts festival at the site of Pun’s largest waterfall (720 feet). Check out The Bigger Day Arts at DeHarderday Falls.

June 30: Judge Crater was formed in eastern Pun about 10,000 years ago when a meteorite crashed into the earth. The crater is named for Hubie D. Judge, the man who discovered and mapped it in 1741, and is primarily known for its vast fields of mint that grow in the crater. The rich land of the area gives the mint a strong bouquet and flavor that is highly prized by Pun citizens. A celebration is held every year and people come from all over the island to partake in the festivities on June 30, Judge Mint Day.

All month: In what has now become an annual event, the Pun National Museum of Dance History in Foot Falls has special exhibits all month with reduced admission prices. Visitors can view films and displays and also follow footprint patterns on the floor to do the King Conga, One Trick Pony, the Land, Rock, and Mud Slide, Sour Mash, Weirdos’ Disco, Little Black Samba, Kaffi Break Dance, Plummers Clog, the Pyar Square Dance (actually a Round Dance) Izzit Reel, Cold Turkey Trot, the Oliver, Plot, and Arm Twists, Lapp Dance, Front Porch Swing, Pink Flamenco, Fazz Shuffle, Watcher Step, Lemon Merengue, Thingma Jig, Mild, Medium or Spicy Salsa, the Carr Rhumba (also known as the Carr Hop and the Front End Shimmy) or the North, South, Tenfoot, Bean, Totem, or Gallop Pole Dances. There are even displays covering the outlawed Strip Polka and the Buttin’s Key Cannibals’ dance, the Hominy Minuet.

Featured Restaurant of the Month: Owner Runford DeRoses used to tend the old race horses that had been put out to pasture from the tracks of in Doodah, Pun.  After he retired, he opened Pasture Prime, a little eatery just up the coast in Bjornburg.  Despite the tacky decor, this is a fine restaurant with an impressive a la carte selection.  Try the house specialty Pasture Prime, or the Belmont Steaks, or Filly Mignon, and tell us if there isn’t something different about the flavor and texture of DeRoses’s cooking.  Fresh baked Thoro Bread is served with each meal.  Ample parking and quick service means you won’t have to wait furlong.  Overlooking Betonda Bay.

This installment  of “This Month in Pun” is brought to you by Sunsets Trips, which features Senior Citizens Excursion Packages.  Travel agents Ben Dare and Dawn Datt are available to handle all your travel needs.  Located at 1448 Doan Dilleed Alley, Fairthy Wells, Pun.

May 1: At Forest Landing, a town on the Stream of Consciousness, the Pun Communist Party holds its yearly May Day celebration. The party’s society for men (The Marx Brothers) and its female counterpart (the Lenin Sisters), hold rallies, give speeches and, in general, attempt to recapture the glory of the Tsar Wars. Another Communist rally will take place in San Inyorchoos in southwest Pun at a restaurant called A Familiar Fez. The restaurant specializes in Arabian cuisine and is located across from the Camel Lot. The restaurant’s name refers to the fezzes worn by a fanatical Communist organization known as the Rogue Island Reds, who regularly met at this site. In 1915, this fez and cape wearing group attempted to stage the infamous Cock-a-Doodle Coup. The Reds objective was to overthrow the government by pullets, not ballots. To a man, each member had vowed, if not successful in the attempt, to die with his fez and capon. The Reds’ first seditious endeavor was an assault on the arsenal at Duck Downs. But the attack never got off the ground. A dispirited faction of the Reds, known as the Cock-A-Doodle Dandies, failed to show up at the rendezvous point and the attack had to be cancelled. The leader of the Reds, Layne Hens, denounced the Dandies as cowards. In an attempt to re-establish their honor, the Dandies, led by Rooster Cockborn, hatched a plot to raid the arsenal on their own. Ill equipped and out-manned, the raiders were soon discovered, quickly succumbed to government shelling, and eventually cracked. The coup a failure, the conspirators were all banished to Eggs Isle in the Ova Bight (now Center Isle of Honorondo Bay) where they lived out their lives and died martyrs to their cause. Despite the fact that the restaurant is named A Familiar Fez, you don’t see many fezzes around Pun these days. Apparently it is a fez only a martyr can love.

May 6-7: Check out the William Frolic in the town of Babaloo on Santa Lucia (the Isle of Lucy). Once again, except for the traditional grape-stomping, candy-eating competitions, and Conga demonstrations, and the annual performance by the zany rock band Dizzy Lou, activities for this year’s Frolic were not available at press time. Expect the unexpected and you won’t be disappointed. Usually, everybody has a ball.

May 11-14: We don’t know why we even publicize the Lazy Fair, held these four days at Fort Ewinks. No activities are planned, no arts and crafts demonstrated or displayed. Tourists are advised to leave this one alone.

May 21: Once again, it’s Dennis Day in Pun City in honor of Seeyor Dennis, one of Pun’s most creative citizens. Dennis was a noted architect, engraver, and designer. He constructed many of the country’s bridges, engraved the currency plates, and designed the royal crowns. His house, in Tooth Acres at the corner of Ake and Payne, is open wide from 9-5 daily for tours.

All month: Admission fees are greatly reduced this month at Pun City’s Aboynem Zoo. The zoo is one of the most delightful attractions in Pun City and a must-see for tourists. Because Pun is an isolated island, the animal life is unique. Simulated natural environments showcase the wildlife to its best advantage. The “Tenk Yew Berry Marsh” simulates the environments of the Huckleberry Fen and Howe’s Bayou regions of the island. You’ll see Mad Adders and Dew Azure Toads and shore birds including George and Bugsy Sea Gulls, Frasier and Niles Cranes and Wright, Yu, and Leff Terns. The “Ape Pre-Cut Preserve” chronicles the devastating effects that rain forest clearing is having on the homes of mountain gorillas and and other species, such as the Barbara Mandrill, the Gray Disc Ape, and the Urban Gorilla. The special class of animals in the “Black Boar Jungle” offers a mix of savage and violent predators, such as the Dotted Lion and the Rod’s Tiger (which only hunts in the heat of the night). The “Borntabee Wilds” replicates Pun’s grasslands areas. You’ll see Saracen Roebuck, Hecklin Jackals, and Dix Eland, to name but a few. The “Forty Birds Aviary” is dedicated to preserving and replenishing the forty kinds of birds currently on Pun’s endangered species list. Here you’ll see the Harda Swallow, Peter Finch, Oh Jay, Christopher Robin, Sanfran Siskin, Baldy Moore Oriole, and Saint Louis Cardinal. The “Dubbelon Tundra” exhibit presents many of the inhabitants of the same-named area of northern Pun, including the Wooly Bully, Cold Turkey, Chilly Dog, and North Pole Cat.  The Zoo’s Aquarium, “Dire Straits,” is named for the waterway off Pun’s west coast.  This heavily polluted area of Pun’s seashore contains fish that are incorporating the pollution detritus into their biology, resulting in cybernetic fish such as those exhibited here.  You’ll see the Scrappie, Scum Sucker, Garbage Man-O-War, Grunt of the Litter, and the Plastic Sturgeon.  The creepy “Crawley Insectatorium”,features insects and bugs from all over Pun, including the Pop Fly, Brie Fleas, Gemini Crickets, Correz Pond Ants, and the No-See-Um (The Imagine Gnat).  The “For River and Ever” exhibit tells the story of conservation efforts on Pun’s inland waterways, including Jimmida Creek, Crimea River, Dadooron Run and Stream of Conciousness, to name but a few.  Here you’ll see river denizens like the Hareep Otter, the Leevitta Beaver,  the Odie Hyu Manatee, the Elijah Woodchuck, and the Elon Muskrat. The “Taloned Scouts” birds of prey exhibit, features avian predators such as the Orr Kestrel, the Goflya Kite, the Anna Condor, the Add Hawk, Ford Falcon, the Spredd Eagle, and the Beached Owl.  And brand new this year is the “Peak Experience” exhibit, a four-story tall construction which seeks to replicate the mountaintop settings of the Amana Range, Kay Serah Sierra, Gesund Heights, Fittov Peak, and other high altitude regions of pun.  Featured here are the Yakkity Yak (also known as the Chatturb Ox), Mykeljay Fox, Nero Wolf, Hill Billy Goat, and the Cross, Horse, Split, Short, and Hydnor Hares.   There is also a petting zoo for the kids at “Nocturnal Farm” where children can come face to face with Night Mares, Rapid Hartebeests, and Gotch Ewes.  There’s a lot to see and do at Aboynem Zoo, so plan on spending several days.