Watermelon Sugar H…Holiday

August — new month, new prompt

No, don’t worry, this isn’t going to turn out to be another worshipping session — well, not entirely anyway, I mean who could resist when discovering that there is a National Watermelon Day, though I’m guessing this is peculiar to ..the USA? (‘Watermelon Sugar High’ — Harry Styles).

Anyway, today is the first of August, another new month already and what a month it is! Apologies to Antipodeans living in colder climes at the moment, but this one is going to be a true month of Summer Celebration, for me at least and I’m guessing I won’t be the only one!

Temperatures rising, wildfires burning, polar ice caps and glaciers melting — it’s hot in the city, the beaches are heaving and the festivals… Oh The FESTIVALS!

So join us won’t you? Celebrate in Styles (oops, sorry, I slipped) with us here at Counter Arts — alternatively write some poetry or fiction and send it over to Rainbow Salad (our sister publication — where flights of fancy can, and will, be indulged…nay, celebrated!)

As with last month it’s a pretty open field of choice. Write about something personal, a memory, something or somewhere you particularly enjoy. Send us photos — we love a photo-story…even better a little travelogue to take us away on a virtual trip! Or… write about history (Augustus for example). Write about art. Write about a festival. Or an awareness day for a cause close to your heart. Write about your favourite summer music. Something specific to your country or culture, or a topic of international interest/concern. Yes, you can write about the effects of climate change, I’m not demanding relentless emotional ‘sunshine’, it can be terrifying and/or disheartening, if you like.

All I’m asking is that you write. That you write well. Tie your essay to August somehow, tag it as a ‘prompt response’ and tag Counter Arts (for all of your nonfiction fabulousness — or head on over to Rainbow Salad with your fiction/poetry and I’ll see you there!) If you’re not already a writer for either one or both of our publications and you would like to be, simply drop us a note to that effect in the comments and it shall be done.

Some notable things about August:

This month is named for Augustus Caesar

Lammas/Lughnasadh — BBC — Religions — Paganism: Lammas (Aug 1)

World Breastfeeding Week (Aug 1–6)

Dog Days of Summer (July 3 — Aug 11) Dog Days end Cat Nights begin (Aug 17)

National (USA?) Watermelon Day (Aug 3) — watermelons ready for harvest

Notting Hill Carnival, London (UK) (Aug 26–27)

Black Rock City/’Burning Man’ (Nevada, USA) (Aug 28 — Sept 5) Already covered in an amazing photo essay by aleXander hirka: https://readmedium.com/this-aint-no-connie-francis-v-a-c-a-t-i-o-n-1ff3946ea9b7 Please do have a look!! (to help boost Burning Man funds if nothing else, as I’m hoping for more photos to come our way from this years event!)

Edinburgh Fringe Festival (Aug 3–27) (Edinburgh, Scotland)

Manchester Pride Big Weekend (Manchester, UK) (Aug 24–27)

Perseid meteor shower (July 23 — Aug 22)

Zodiac birth signs Leo (July 23 — Aug 22) & Virgo (Aug 23 -Sept 22)

Gladiolus, poppy & sunflowers all associated with this month

Peridot, spinel & sardonyx are the three birthstones associated with August

Links for further inspiration:

31 Reasons to Celebrate in August (thespruce.com)

Facts about the month of August — Customs and Traditions (projectbritain.com)

The Month of August 2022: Holidays, Fun Facts, Folklore | The Old Farmer’s Almanac

All the Holidays and Observances in August (bhg.com)

Historic August — events in history that have taken place in August (historic-uk.com)

Events, Festivals & Concerts in August | VisitEngland

August bank holiday: The 20 best things to do around the UK | The Independent | The Independent

August Birthstones | Peridot & Spinel Birthstone Information | GIA

12 Zodiac Signs: Dates and Personality Traits of Each Star Sign | Allure

August Birth Flowers and Their Meanings — Petal Republic

10 Flowers to Pick in August — BBC Gardeners World Magazine

Goddess of the month… August (discoverthepath.com)

If you’ve got this far, thank you for reading, I hope you’ll consider participating — even if you normally have a great dislike for prompts (you know who you are!). There’s wide enough scope here to do your ‘thing’, I think.

As this is a prompt piece, I’m tagging a few writers to (hopefully) start us off:

Will Hull ~ Carlos Garbiras ~ Jess the Avocado ~ Napoleon ~ Bob Merckel ~ Kamna Kirti ~ Reece Beckett ~ Remington Write ~ aleXander hirka ~ Marc Barham ~ Jackie Olsen ~ Harry Stefanakis ~ Roo Benjamin ~ Angelina Der Arakelian ~ Amanda Laughtland ~ Greyson Ferguson ~ Francesco Carrubba Allie Funk ~ Dana Leigh Lyons ~ Aimée Gramblin

Join Medium with my referral link — Sadie Seroxcat (if you want to contribute to my writing life, a small amount of your annual subscription would come to me).