4th of July Fun!

BY: RACHEL WUMKES

There was a farmer had a dog… oh wait!  That’s the wrong Bingo.  This blog is supposed to be about the popular carnival game, not the song.  Silly me.

The time we all love is fast-approaching, my friends.  In about a week, our beloved City Park will transform into the ultimate fun-factory when the Evans United Carnival rolls into town.  As part of this week-long celebration of America’s birthday, the Clear Lake Area Chamber is excited to announce we will, once again, operate a bingo tent.

As topics like this always do, I spent my morning pondering this game.  Where did it come from? How has it evolved over the years?  My curiosity got the best of me, and I began to dig a bit.

Here’s what I learned:

The game of bingo originated in Italy as part of the Italian national lottery, which has been played since 1530.  From Italy, the game migrated to France in the late 1770s, where it was called “Le Lotto” and played mostly among wealthy Frenchmen.  Germany adapted a version of the game in the 1800s and used it to help students learn math and spelling.

Bingo was first played in the United States at a carnival in Georgia. In this version, a dealer would select numbered discs from a cigar box and players marked their cards with beans.  Thus, when they won, they yelled out “beano!”

New York toy salesman, Edwin S. Lowe, was at one of these events when he overheard a winner accidentally call out “bingo!” instead of “beano.”  He hired a Columbia math professor to help him create cards with different combinations.  By 1930, the two of them had invented 6,000 different bingo cards.

From there, bingo became popular in the Catholic church as a way to raise funds.  Once more people found out how much money could be made from the game, Bingo trickled into casinos across the country.

Today, more than $90 million dollars are spent each week on bingo in North America.

Over the years, bingo has garnered the stereotype as one of those “games old people play.”  Bingo is a great game for aging adults, but it’s fun at any age.  While many play for socialization or fun, the main benefit for the elder generation is the cognitive workout.

From one end of the World to the other, people have embraced this fun game.  That is why it is still so popular today.

Just come to the bingo tent and see for yourself!  In fact, grab a corn dog or a cold refreshment from one of the fine establishments uptown.  Park your butt under the big top and enjoy all the fun!  You can play one card, or three.  Heck, even more if you’re feeling lucky!  It’s good old-fashioned fun at its finest and you have SEVEN DAYS to play.

Incidentally, we are still looking to fill a few slots with volunteers.

There’s the underlying purpose of this blog! You knew it was coming, right?

Does it help if I guarantee you’ll have a GREAT time?  Grab a couple of friends or sign up to close out a timeslot and make new friends.  Either way, your time and dedication will be appreciated by the entire Chamber staff.  And the community.

This is our time to shine, people.  Really shine.  Just think of the extra traffic headed into our beautiful tourist town.  They chose us.  Out of anywhere they could go, or anything they could do over the 4th of July.

They want to come here.

So, let’s give them something to talk about.  Help us put on the biggest, most amazingly fun week of good old American awesomeness!

Sign up today à https://signup.com/client/invitation2/secure/6113548040104/true#/invitation