A state park in northeast Iowa is hosting an unusual event this month that may make it appear as if campers have gone crazy from the heat. Rudolph, Frosty the Snowman and other familiar winter icons will join Santa Claus on a horse-drawn sleigh at Backbone State Park for its first-ever Christmas in July campout on the 20th and 21st.
Park manager Mary Shea says all campers are encouraged to decorate their campsites as if it were December 24th. Shea says "Their tents, their campers, around their site. They can bring in their Santa Clauses, snowmen, anything they want that pertains to Christmas." She says a variety of winter wonderland events are planned.
Shea says they’ll have Santa Claus visit the campground in a horse-drawn carriage, with carriage rides being offered after that. She says campers are encouraged to decorate their campsites with Christmas lights and decorations — including plastic snowmen, reindeer and even those giant inflatable snow-blowing snow-globes. Shea says there’s no better way to beat the heat of summer than to dream about the snow we’ll be getting in another six months.
She says they have 98 campsites in their modern campground with about half of them electric sites and about half of those are reservable. She says a lot of folks have already reserved sites as they want to be a part of the silliness that weekend.
Shea says a top DNR official and a state legislator from Delaware County will judge the best campsites in a host of categories. She expects more than a few campers to spread simulated, perhaps even real, snow on July 20th and 21st.
Audio: Radio Iowa’s Matt Kelley reports on Christmas in July. :44 MP3